Thanksgiving invites all of us to pause and recognize the good in our lives. It is a rare cultural moment when a nation shifts its attention from what it wants to what it already has. That shift reflects a truth found in many spiritual and…
Category: Other
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The Two Dimensions of Thanksgiving
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The Brilliance of the Vilna Gaon
The Vilna Gaon was known for his exceptional brilliance. He often came up with novel ideas in his interpretation of the Torah. One such example came from the discussion between Rivka and Yakov, when she convinced him to disguise himself as Eisav….
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How Israel Lost the Palestinian State Narrative
Recently, multiple countries have recognized a Palestinian state. The popular view around the world, which is on clear display right now, is that there is only one reason the Palestinians don’t have a sovereign state: Because Israel has not…
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Not the Rubicon of Antisemitism, but of a New Feudal Order
Not the Rubicon of Antisemitism, but of a New Feudal Order “If you see the poor oppressed in a province, and justice and righteousness trampled, do not be astonished at the matter; for one official is watched by a higher one, and there are yet…
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Marjorie Taylor Greene to resign from Congress amid clashes with Trump over Israel, Epstein
Far-right Georgia Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene announced late Friday that she would resign from the House amid a rift with President Donald Trump over the release of the Epstein files and her staunch opposition…
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Laughter in Berlin, Hope in Israel
Notes on Jewish Belonging – Between Berlin and Ben-Gurion: What Jewish Belonging Feels Like Right Now Memory behind me. Home ahead. And a comedian in the middle reminding me why Jews keep returning. I spent some time this past week in Berlin —…
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OK, Mamdani has rizz. Now what do we do about it?
On the night Zohran Mamdani was elected the next mayor of New York City, he walked onstage before a sea of supporters that greeted him with enthusiastic applause. “He isn’t bad looking,” said my wife, looking up from her phone at the TV….
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Two Years
For two years, I have largely stayed away from posting on Facebook. I have purged many “friends” — the ones who didn’t have the bandwidth to utter even the most banal of condolences when we were slaughtered, yet had an opinion about genocide or…
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Tefillah Is Not ‘Prayer’; It Is Self-Judgement Before the King
You already know the words of the Amidah, the bows, the steps. Now meet the soul of the word itself. The verb we use three times daily is לְהִתְפַּלֵּל, lehitpallēl (Yemenite pronunciation). Its root is פ־ל־ל, p-l-l, which in…
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Plano ISD’s Antisemitism Problem – Still a Problem
Plano ISD’s Antisemitism Problem Is No Longer Denied—But It Is Still Ignored When I first wrote about the dangerous rise of antisemitism in Plano ISD, many insisted the problem was exaggerated or “misunderstood.” Others…
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