The intrepid Rabbi Yaakov Horowitz published an op-ed in the Jerusalem Post recently hailing the sentencing of an operative for a self-appointed tzniyus vaad in Yerushalayim to four years in jail. He then republished it on his blog, and called on others to join in the condemnation of violence and vigilante terrorism in the name of Torah. We should do so without hesitation.

The convicted perp had accepted $2000 from a tzniyus vaad, in payment for his breaking into the apartment of a woman in Maalot Daphne and viciously beating her. The vaad hoped that she could be convinced thereby to move out of their neighborhood. Members of the vaad itself escaped conviction because the case against them was bungled by the authorities. (See the piece on Rabbi Horowitz’s blog for the fuller story, and Dr Benzion Twerski’s thoughtful comment about the needed balance between openness and transparency on the one hand, and following halachah in regard to unfounded allegations on the other.)

Rabbi Horowitz did the right thing in publicly distancing the Torah community from violence in pursuit of purported Torah values. He called upon haredi MKs to see to it that the authorities fully prosecute … Read More >>

Chief Rabbi (UK) Sir Jonathan Sacks

[The following piece appeared in the Times of London late last month. In the mind of one of the senior contributors to this blog, it is as good as it gets in making the modern case for belief. - YA]

We owe a great debt to the British Humanist Association for their advertising campaign on buses: ‘There’s probably no God.’ It’s thought-provoking in a helpful way, because it invites us to reflect not only on God but also on probability.

One of the most unexpected discoveries of modern science is the sheer improbability of the universe. It is shaped by six fundamental forces which, had they varied by a millionth or trillionth degree, the universe would have expanded or imploded in such a way as to preclude the formation of stars and planets. Unless we assume the existence of a million or trillion other universes (itself rather a large leap of faith), the fact that there is a universe at all is massively improbable.

So is the existence of life. Among the hundred billion galaxies each with a hundred billion stars, only one planet thus far known to us, earth, seems finely tuned for … Read More >>

“The heart wants what the heart wants.” – Woody Allen

“The heart has its own rules and ways” – Sheikh Yusef Al-Qaradawi

Qaradawi – is an icon in the Muslim world, and a leader of the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood. He is a popular authority on Islamic law on both Al Jazeera and IslamOnline. is the head of the European Council for Fatwa and Research (ECFR), and the president of The International Association of Muslim Scholars (IAMS). He is a consistent critic of the decadence of the West. He supports suicide bombings, and has ruled that Muslims must boycott American goods. He is barred from entering both the US and the UK, but is supported here by CAIR, which passes itself off as a moderate Islamic defense organization, but has recently been pointed to by the FBI for its terrorist connections.

Qaradawi is 82. Some years ago, he was impressed by the presentation of a student at a school where he lectured. These are his words: “”When I saw her up close, I said [to her]: ‘Praise Allah, who endowed you with physical as well as moral beauty. Allah gave you intelligence, rhetorical ability, an impressive presence, beauty, and a good figure. … Read More >>

The modal reaction to those who came in contact with the Kids of Courage (KOC) West Coast Tour last week was one of utter disbelief. Twenty-four participants, all of whom suffer from chronic conditions so daunting that the rest of us cannot even pronounce their names, had an opportunity to enjoy unimpaired joy and camaraderie the likes of which they rarely, if ever, can enjoy.

To accomplish this, over fifty support personnel – all of them familiar with the needs of these kids – came along. Special arrangements had to be made every inch of the way. Disneyland, Universal Studios, and Sea-World had to cooperate. Special medical equipment had to be provided, including a Hatzolah ambulance that tagged along. Hospitals were “on call” and ready to meet anticipated needs. No airline was willing to fly so many “medicals” on one flight, until the very last one called – Continental – agreed. Toys R Us agreed to open an hour early to accommodate the kids (each equipped with one hundred dollars) who wheeled or dragged themselves through the isles for a surprise shopping spree. (They were met on arrival by Fox, CNN, and ABC media crews.) Srulie … Read More >>

For most of us the mourning of Tisha B’Av is only partly for our lost Temple. We mourn no less over our lack of access to the emotions aroused by the Temple, for our inability to even imagine what it is that we are so lacking.

I had a similar feeling recently, when the ba’al korei reached the words, “ve’yachan sham Yisrael neged hahar – and Israel encamped there, opposite the mountain” (Shemos 19:2), in parashas Yisro. Few comments of Rashi are better known than his explication of the use of the singular verb to describe the encampment of the bnei Yisrael at Sinai, as opposed to the plural verb ve’yachanu employed elsewhere: “K’ish echad b’lev echad – as one man with one heart.” When we read Rashi, we are saddened not just by the absence of such unity among Jews today, but by the fact that the unity he describes is beyond our powers of imagination. As with the Temple, we have no access to the state of being Rashi is describing, much less any idea of how it might be achieved again.

During the infamous Beilis Trial, one of the pieces of “evidence” cited by the prosecution to prove … Read More >>