THE ROOTS OF FAITH – Basic Tenets of Jewish Philosophy: Torah from Heaven – by Rabbi Oury Cherki, Machon Meir, Rabbi of Beit Yehuda Congregation, Jerusalem
Two proofs are given to show that there is a Divine source for the Torah. But they must be understood in depth and not simply in accord with the folk approach – that millions of people would not lie about the description of an event, especially not to their children....
ZIONIST CHASSIDISM: The President and the White Paper – by Rabbi Rafi Ostroff, Head of the Religious Council of Gush Etzion
I am writing this before the visit of the President of the United States to Israel, and it goes without saying that as of now I do not know what results the visit might have in either the short or long term. In 5699 (1939), near the Torah portion of Bamidbar, the...
POINT OF VIEW: Declarations and Symbols as Opposed to Facts and Actions – by Zevulun Orlev
We celebrated Yom Yerushalayim with Hallel and thanksgiving, with joy and dancing. Sadly, during the rest of the year the unification of Jerusalem is more on paper than it is a real fact. Construction in the city is frozen, its Moslem citizens are taught in school to...
AS SHABBAT APPROACHES: Every Man at his Banner – by Rabbi Mordechai Greenberg, Rosh Yeshiva, Kerem B’Yavne
The attitude of the wise men of Yisrael towards a flag is not uniform. In the past we discussed the positive approach of Rabbi J.B. Soloveithik to the flag of Israel. Rabbi Moshe Feinstein, on the other hand, felt that the flag has no importance. In response to a...
Parshat Bamidbar: “History Makers – Establishing a Jewish Genealogy” by Rabbi Efrayim Unterman
Rabbi Unterman is the rabbi of Young Israel of East Brunswick in East Brunswick, NJ. In Ruth – From Alienation to Monarchy (Maggid Books, 2015), Dr. Yael Zeigler highlights the centrality of namefulness and namelessness in the book of Ruth. Among other examples she...
A PARSHA INSIGHT: Can we Measure the Fear of G-d? By Rabbi Asaf Harnoy, Rabbi of “Aderet Eliyahu” Community, Gilo, Jerusalem
The Torah portion of Kedoshim gathers together all those people in our surroundings who would seem to be “transparent” and gives us a specific commandment about each one. We must not put a stumbling block in front of a blind person or curse a deaf person, we must set...
As Shabbat Approaches: To Live by Them By Esti Rosenberg, Head of the Midrasha for Women, Migdal Oz
“Observe My decrees and My laws, which man will perform so that he will live by them” [Vayikra 18:5]. “Be holy, for I am holy” [Vayikra 19:2]. The ability of man, a physical creature, to reach for and to create holiness is not obvious. A number of commentators have...
Point of View: They are Afraid by Rabbi Amichai Gordin, Yeshivat Har Etzion
They are buried in a long line that is not very straight. These people were killed by artillery fire in Jerusalem in 5708. This week I passed by the graves on Har Hamenuchot, in Jerusalem, and I tried to imagine their funerals. At the time, Jerusalem was under siege...