Clik here to view.
A Concrete but Distant Hope
I have supported strong restrictions on allowing Syrian refugees into this country. As have many governors including my own, Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner. Even though it is heart wrenching to watch...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Looking at the Negatives and the Positives
It’s been quite a ride so far. The upcoming inauguration for President has fostered the most divisive partisan debate in my memory. Considering that my memory includes the Viet Nam War, that is saying...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Is Objectivity a Thing of the Past?
One of the more disappointing things I have experienced of late is the inability of far too many people of my own people (i.e. Orthodox Jews) to see ‘the other side’. It is almost as if they have a...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Viewing Judaism through the Lens of Feminism
Scene from the JOFA conference last Sunday (Jewish Week)I’m told that back in the late 70s Ner Israel Rosh Yeshiva, Rabbi Yaakov Weinberg once commented that the biggest danger to Judaism in our time...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Marrying Out in the 21st Century
Marc Mezvinsky and Chelsea ClintonOne of the current by-products associated with leaving observance (going OTD) is intermarriage. This should not come as too much of a surprise. Once a Jew abandons...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Congratulations, Mr. President
Just a little over 8 years ago, I publicly offered my congratulations to President-elect, Barack Obama. This was just after he won the election in November of 2008. It was a seminal moment in our...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Why Bi-Partisan Support for Israel has Crashed
Muslim Congressman, Keith EllisonOne of the complaints I kept hearing about Prime Minister Netanyahu’s address to congress last year was that he was eroding bi-partisan support for Israel.It’s true...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The Travel Experience from Hell
It’s 3:00 in the morning and I am still unable to calm down from what my wife and I went through today. (Well, by now it was yesterday that we went through it.) So I thought since I couldn’t sleep...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Love Thy Neighbor – A Prescription for Peaciie
Maale AdumimFirst let me make clear my long standing commitment to the 2 state solution as the best possible hope for the future of our people in Israel. It may surprise people that I still feel this...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Another Religious Jew Embarrasses Us
Former Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi of Israel, Yona Metzger (TOI)It is an understatement to say that it is a Chilul HaShem. And yet there is no other way to say it. Yona Metzger, the immediate past Ashkenazi...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Not Your Mother’s Feminism
Group of Orthodox women (Forward)I admire Simi Lichtman for the intellectual honesty she expressed in her recent Forward article. This Modern Orthodox feminist can hardly be denied that description....
View ArticleClik here to view.
Kindnesses of the Children of Abraham
Syrian refugee children (Reuters via the Jerusalem Post)Can anyone imagine Israel taking in Syrian refugees? If one realizes that Syria is an Arab country bordering Israel’s north; and a country with...
View ArticleClik here to view.
A Scholarly View of the Right, Left and Middle
Bar Ilan Historian, Professor Adam FerzigerI had the privilege yesterday of listening to a lecture given by social historian, Professor Adam Ferziger. He was the scholar-in-residence at the Boynton...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Beyond Sectarianism – The Realignment of American Orthodox Judaism
Guest Contribution by Joel RichBeth Medrash Govoha (BMG - Lakewood)My review of Professor Ferziger’s lecture on the sociological history of Orthodoxy generated a response from Joel Rich. Mr. Rich has...
View ArticleClik here to view.
An Executive Order
Lest we forget what we are fighting...Somehow the conversation always turns around to Trump these days. And usually in the most negative of ways. It almost doesn’t matter how the conversation starts...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Dismantling a ‘Trailer Park’
Scene from the Amona evacuation (NBC)All those who think that Netanyahu is all about settlements have to explain why he is so quick to dismantle the trailer park settlement of Amona ordered by the...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Bleeding Hearts; Fascists; and Islam
Violent protest at UC Berkeley campus yesterday (NPR)The Trump factor refuses to go away. No matter how much I want discuss issues that are more directly related to the Jewish people - the elephant in...
View ArticleClik here to view.
As Predicted…
Jordan's King Abdullah and President TrumpAs predicted by yours truly, Trump has changed some of his positions based on what his advisers and some world leaders have been telling him. The latest being...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The Dignity of Difference
Rabbanit Alissa Thomas-Newborn of Congregation B'nai DavidIt appears to be unanimous. The rejection of female rabbis by virtually all religious authorities and institutions is apparently complete. The...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The Importance of Rabbis Listening to Experts
Rabbi Shimon RussellA few weeks ago, Montreal Beis Yaakov principal, Rabbi Shneur Aisenstark wrote a guest column for Mishpacha Magazine in which he gave some startling advice to parents whose children...
View Article