“I just remember praying to God, begging him, saying ‘save me, I’m in your hands now. It was a sentence I often said in captivity.” This is how Bar Kuperstein, an Israeli hostage held by Hamas, described one of his scariest days in…
Category: Other
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The Strength of Torah in the Darkest Corners
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Oy to the World: The Jewish Hand in the Holiday Mix
While many may not realize how deeply Jewish composers have shaped the sound of Christmas, this rabbi explores that shared musical legacy and concludes with a Chanukah reimagining of a beloved classic. It all begins around Thanksgiving. The…
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The real Chanukah miracle
Settling into my seat in synagogue one morning earlier this week, I suddenly noticed a rifle propped up against the wall. The scene was jarring. Though this summer will mark 15 years since we made Aliyah, there are still some sights that can give…
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Hanukkah in Jerusalem: Light without Apology
When Jewish Time Occupies Jewish Space
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The Cost of Speaking Over Our Own Margins
Why Jewish moral conversations must widen their frame In recent years, a familiar claim has taken hold in American Jewish cultural discourse: Jews are powerful. We are wealthy. We are influential. We dominate media, publishing, law, finance, and…
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G‑d Who Dreams
The last three Torah portions—Vayetze, Vayeshev, and Miketz—are saturated with dreams. What if the whole universe is one continuous dream of the Creator? Does G-d dream us into existence? I think so. From Plotinus to Schrödinger The idea…
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Qatari Money and the Global Caliphate
We are currently in the midst of the religious war for the global caliphate. And whether they realize it or not, the palestinianist/antizionist movement – comprised mostly of college students and the progressive community at large – is aiding…
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The Personalities of the Tribes
We get certain insights into the personalities of the various sons of Yakov. Our first introduction to Yosef is that he was a pretty annoying brother. He seemed to boast about his favored status with their father, and he told them about his…
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A Review of the Documentary October 7: Bearing Witness to the Massacre
I keep coming back to an uncomfortable thought: when something truly awful happens, many of us look for an explanation before we acknowledge what happened. But just as often, it functions as a way to steady ourselves—to keep from being…
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Before October 7, I was a Hellenist Jew
Before October 7, I was a Hellenist Jew. Not in the literal, academic sense — but in the way many of us were without ever naming it. I believed, deeply, in universality. In porous borders of identity. In the idea that if we were enlightened…
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