These have been heavy weeks, out there in the open world as well as in our own navel-gazing community. Despite the imminent arrival on Sunday of the fast of Tisha B’Av when both our Temples were destroyed, a little voice inside me tells me its time to lighten up. Besides, the relentless battle against age, flab or the poisons we…
Rabbi Kook’s Legacy
The huge Jerusalem yeshiva, Merkaz HaRav Kook, is nowadays the Alma Mater of the religious Zionist movement and is associated with the settlers and those demonstrating against the planned removal from Gaza, more than any other (and there are, of course, others). The yeshiva was founded by Rav Avraham Yitzhak Kook (1865-1935), but it was his son, Rav Zvi Yehuda…
Caution: Religious Fanaticism Can Be Dangerous
In my weekly email to subscribers I sent a copy of an email I received that claimed to be an open letter to Ken Livingstone, the Mayor of London, by young Muslim fanatics, followers of Omar Bakri and Abu Hamza: Mr. Ken Livingstone: You seem to think that you, personally, are not to blame for the bombings in London or…
Eyeless in Gaza
Anyone who expresses an opinion on Israeli politics is heading for disaster. But since when have I been afraid of getting into trouble? The current turmoil over the forced withdrawal from Gaza illustrates the polarities of Zionism, Judaism and Israeli society. In Israel orange ribbons festoon cars and homes as the color of those who object to withdrawal, the “Detachment”…
An Emotional Response to Dead and Mutilated Bodies in Natanya and London, and in Memory of Srebrenica.
In one way it must be very comforting to be a Christian who believes in Original Sin and holds it to be a matter of faith that all humans are born essentially evil. This can explain how humanoids can set off bombs in the midst of civilians going about their daily business, who have nothing to do with them, have…
Marrying Out
Marrying out of Judaism is such a major issue and I’ve received so many emails recently asking my opinion that I have to bite the bullet and address it. It is irrelevant to look back to Biblical Judaism and think that because King Solomon did it (some 700 non-Jewish wives and 300 concubines), therefore it can’t be a problem. Judaism…