General Topics

Divorce

Both in the Torah and in the Talmud, marital difficulties are the current topics. The Torah lays down the obligation to marry and specifies what a male is required to provide for his wife ( otherwise he will be in trouble). But it gives men the right to divorce not women. Of course, circumstances were different without any question, and…

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The Coronation

Whatever one may or may not think of monarchy, the coronation of King Charles was a magnificent pageant. It illustrates why it is that the Talmud was so keen on going out of one’s way to witness a king ( or queen)  in all their glory and making a blessing on seeing such a manifestation of earthly power (Brachot 9b, 19b,…

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Evolving Judaism

Many people think that Judaism is so conservative that it simply doesn’t change, and we are still rooted in a tradition that is 3000 years old. The reality is that Judaism is constantly changing. Not always in the same direction and not always as quickly or as dramatically as we might like. And a great example is the period of…

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Hypocrites

We Jews have always been outliers. Now it seems everyone else wants to catch up with us and claim victimhood, discrimination, abuse, and alienation and the only way to cope is to be mean to everyone else. We are admired and despised, and we are our own worst enemies.  We are commanded to love each other, to be responsible for…

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Israel at 75

I have recently read two great books. “Israel’s Declaration of Independence: The History and Political Theory of the Nation’s Founding Moment” by Neil Rogachevsky and Dov Ziegler (Cambridge University Press). Just published. And the 2019 “A State at Any Cost: The Life of David Ben-Gurion” by Tom Segev (Picador). Both are essential for anyone interested in the mechanisms of establishing…

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Memorials to the Holocaust

This week we witnessed another impressive Holocaust Memorial Day in Israel when the country came to halt to remember. As well as the return of the annual March of the Living pilgrimage to Auschwitz. Elsewhere? Hardly anyone noticed. The Holocaust is unique in the history of humanity for the sheer size manner and process of the aim and execution, to…

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