This was different. I’ve run many shabbatons. As I walked into shul on Friday evening, I felt that this was different, that we were connected with Jews celebrating Shabbos all over the world. The frum community loved it. One unexpected outcome was how energized the frum community was after the Shabbos. One shul is now... Read more »
We all know the reasons that we type so many of our correspondences instead of write them down on a piece of paper. It’s often faster, it’s neater, and it can easily be saved and categorized for future reference without paper-sifting and clutter. Electronic communications can be shared far and wide and allow us to reach out and reply when it works for us, not having to be concerned as much with the other’s schedule and readiness to communicate.
1. Heart of Darkness – Joseph Conrad Heart of Darkness is a novel about Belgium’s colonial rule in the Congo. The colonialist conquered with his sense of bringing civilization to the savages of Africa. But Conrad shows that much of this was merely an overlay of culture, lacking true moral depth. In some ways, the... Read more »
One of the hardest talks that I had to give took place right before the beginning of my third year as head of school. It was at the back-to-school full faculty meeting and I needed to clear the air about an issue that was on many people’s minds. The issue was me. Not that I necessarily did
I don’t know about you, but until recently, I wasn’t exactly looking forward to Elul and the Yamim Noraim. Let's admit it; considering our shortcomings and tallying up everything we have done wrong for the past 12 months is not exactly fun. I have a feeling I am not alone in this (and certainly many of the people you are trying to mekarev might share this
What resolutions should we make for the coming year after a year in which we Jews found ourselves in a war with Hamas, a war which triggered the greatest outbreak of naked anti-Semitism we have seen since the Second World War? While all this was happening, ISIS was busy slaughtering their own innocents, while thousands were being killed in Ukraine.
HaGaon HaRav Ovadia Yosef zt”l was a giant among giants, one of the foremost poskim (decisors) across the several generations of great poskim during which he was active. The most complex and difficult questions stopped at his desk, and Rav Ovadia either personally authored or served as the primary resource for Teshuvot (responsa) and other... Read more »
So much of the darkest evil has descended upon this earth all at once – ISIS, Hamas, the Syrian government, Boko Haram... It is clear that some of our assumptions about man have to be questioned. The core question is: What is the foundation of human morality? We need a system which can somehow ensure that the world aspires to goodness and not evil. We can't
Quite often I am the ‘go to’ person with regard to whatever someone may need in Israel. As I have three married children living there and my father was a sixth generation Yerushalmi, I have hundreds if not thousands of relatives in almost every corner of the land. I was therefore not surprised when Dovid contacted me for my input. Dovid, who is just turning 20, is a good-natured
