A Community of Kindness
Every once in a while, you need a reminder that what we consider normal neighborly relations — isn’t. Rabbi Adlerstein posted about Jewish Chesed after Hurricane Sandy, two months ago. But here is an...
Yair Lapid at Kiryat Ono – The Transcript
[Editor’s note: An earlier post provided the video link to Yair Lapid’s presentation to the haredi law track at Kiryat Ono College. Realizing that many readers were eager to evaluate the message without investing...
Prisoners of Preconceptions
Even with protective cover from Senator Charles E. Schumer – as determined a defender of Israel as there ever was – and even speaking only for myself, I hesitate to address the overwrought reaction...
Two On The Election
Here are two items to think about, without getting too political. The first depicts a one person’s experience of Israel’s first elections after statehood, in 1949. It is arguably true that things were different...
Rime of the Modern Kiruv Mariner
Water, water, every where, And all the boards did shrink; Water, water, every where, Nor any drop to drink. Ein mayim elah Torah. The water that slakes the ultimate inner thirst is Torah. The...
Nesivos Shalom in English
With gratitude to HKBH, I announce the publication of an English-language treatment of Nesivos Shalom by the Slonimer Rebbe. Like my sefer on Maharal, this is not a strict translation, but a distillation and...
One Appointment Worse than the Next
Barry Rubin of the Gloria Center, one of the Middle East’s shrewdest analysts, was in an unkind mood last week, as he himself admitted. The common element joining President Obama’s three appointments last week...
Never Going Back Again
American politicians tainted by scandal and forced to resign their positions usually explain that they want “to spend more time with their families.” Issam al-Aryan, a top advisor to Egyptian president Mohammed Morsi, who...
A More Pertinent Challenge to Anonymous Voices
We’ve just been through an extensive discussion about a single offhand remark, made privately to Rabbi Adlerstein, concerning a single comment on a single website, read uncharitably, from which we then extrapolate an entire...
A Response to Dr. Finkelman
Dear Reb Yoel, You should take great satisfaction in the discussion generated by your cogent and respectful submission. What ever else divides us, we both love Torah Judaism and the Jewish people. We both...