I landed back in Israel last Monday after having been abroad nearly two weeks for congresses with my students in South and North America, a (very successful) lecture in Queens, NY, and meetings with media personnel and opinion leaders. It…
Today’s Judaism is fractured and fragmented into more pieces than probably anyone can count. The Three Weeks, or Bein ha-Metzarim (“Between the Straits”), that begins on the 17th of Tammuz (commemorated last Sunday) and ends on the 9th of Av (commemorated this…
We may think that a war between Christians and Muslims has nothing to do with us, but as we all know, when there is trouble in the world, the Jews are held responsible. Last Sunday, July 17, I had a…
Last night, I gave a lecture at the Rego Park Jewish Center in Queens, New York. The topic was “What makes people single out Jews, and what can counter anti-Semitism’s sharp rise.” Admittedly, I was not very hopeful. I had…
Many people ask me how I feel about the LGBT community and want to know what the wisdom of Kabbalah has to say about the dispute concerning gender identity. The Torah, we all know, forbids same sex relations, as it…
Time and again, Jews are persecuted and terrorized. Being Jewish myself, I often ponder the purpose of this relentless agony. Some believe that the atrocities of WWII are unimaginable today. And yet, we see how easily and abruptly the state…
Is it not time for a social Marshall Plan to heal the American society? vilians Alton Sterling in Baton Rouge, Louisiana and Philando Castile in Falcon Heights, Minnesota; Dallas police officers Michael Smith, Lorne Ahrens, Michael Krol, Patrick Zamarripa, and…
The scare over the strengthening of ISIS, and its growing appeal to youths in Europe and the US, should be a wakeup call for all of humanity, every man woman and child who are concerned enough to look in the…
The San Bernardino and Orlando massacres are not isolated incidents; they are the beginning of a new, bloody era in America. This week, America celebrated 240 years of independence. Much has changed in America since the original thirteen states agreed…
The horrific massacre at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston set off a battle of banners, making us all feel as if the Civil War had not ended 150 years ago. Five decades after the Segregation has officially ended…
“No man is an island, entire of it self; every man is a peace of the continent, a part of the main. …And therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee.” In one phrase,…
A few days ago, the Jerusalem Post reported that Mark Dankof, a Lutheran pastor and political activist, stated that “Jewish influence and money were being used to destroy Christian culture and values globally. It should not be ignored,” he added, “that the…