Poland has just passed a law making it illegal and a criminal offence to say that the death camps built during the Second World War on Polish territory were Polish camps when in fact they were designed, built, and commanded by German Nazis. The first part of the law says: “[Anyone] who, in public and against the facts, ascribes to…
General Topics
Killing Canaanites
With the increase and spread of antisemitic discourse, many have only just become aware of the viciousness and irrationality of the attacks on Jews and Judaism, which have in fact been endemic in all supposedly monotheistic societies. Mainly since the rise of ideologies claiming to be the sole and only possessors of one truth. We believe there are other ways…
Ten Commandments
If one had to think of Judaism’s major contribution to the world, one might think of the Ten Commandments. Everyone seems to approve of them (until they look to see what they really say). In one way, they play a far more significant role in Christian life than they do in Judaism. These “Ten” appear all over the world in…
Powerful Women
This week we read about two great biblical women who sang songs! In the Torah Miriam, leads the women of Israel in a song and a dance to validate their role in the Exodus. We have already seen the nurturing side of her character in the way she protected her brother. And the Haftarah is about Deborah, a powerful judge.…
Islam and Jerusalem
Why is the Muslim world up in arms against Jerusalem being declared the capital of Israel? After all, Jerusalem is made up of different areas, just as Brooklyn, the Bronx, Queens, Manhattan, and Staten Island are all part of New York City. The part of Jerusalem that contains the Knesset and is the administrative heart of Israel is located on…
Kosher Wine
Last year, there was not one single fatality on commercial airlines, and there hasn’t been a fatality on a US commercial flight since 2009. Whereas in 2016 road accidents accounted for 37,461 fatalities in the US and 335 in Israel. You may be aware that there is a special blessing called Tefilat Haderech, the prayer for travel, which one says before…