Every year during the High Holidays (especially during the seemingly endless rituals of Yom Kippur), I reflect on the strange contradiction between the commandment to rest on Shabbat and holidays and the effort required to observe the holidays in accordance with halakha. I recently wrote about this for a cultural
The idea of a temporary release from social constraints has existed since the dawn of human society. Masked dances, costume festivals, orgiastic processions, and similar forms of liberating ecstasy are found in almost all cultures. They represented an interruption of routine activity—of what we call "work." An
Let us pray that the bizarre incident involving Flight FZ1073 remains the only terrorist attack during the concluding Sukkot festival—the final day of which, Shemini Atzeret, coincides exactly with Shabbat, just as it did on the bloody and unforgettable October 7, 2023. Since then, antisemitism has reached new global
Below is a review of our book So It Happened... Before Everyone's Eyes about October 7th from the new issue (September/October) of the magazine CATO (Berlin), written by Prof. Armin Schwibach (Rome) Israel Defends Western Civilization The terrorist attacks by the Islamist group Hamas against the Israeli
Increasingly, agricultural technology becomes a prominent issue worlwide. With Israel leading in this field, it begins to influence our diplomatic standing. For instance in case of Morocco which has just upgraded its diplomatic relations with Israel to the level of full embassies: “Morocco’s agriculture is vulnerable to climate shocks,
Here my short statement about the elections in Berlin, capital of Germany, in English translation: Sometimes it’s nice to be far away. That is how I feel these days, after learning the election results in Berlin. The worst part is: I’m not surprised. I have visited Berlin often
I just read an article in The Jerusalem Post about the anti-Israel demonstration held yesterday in New York—organized by left-wing Jewish groups such as Rabbis for Ceasefire, Jewish Voice for Peace, Jews For Racial & Economic Justice, and "IfNotNow"—which aimed to "atone for
We have made it through Yom Kippur. At our synagogue—correct, but not overly ritualistic—the service yesterday lasted eight hours. It is a form of torture. During those hours, I askled myselfif I shouldn't just go home and attend to urgent work for the sake of Israel.
Dr. A.T., a reader of this blog, wrote regarding the frenzy of applause in Venice (and I like his observation that Israel-hatred is the new "religion" of the European left): "The cultural scene’s hatred of Israel has long since taken on the characteristics of
In the sky rumors are circulating; fighter jets are on the move again. There are early signs of a new ground offensive in Gaza, where Hamas remains in power in the as-yet unoccupied territory (within the "yellow line") and stubbornly refuses to disarm. Yet disarmament is a
Today the Jewish New Year festival Rosh Hashana starts with its evening service in synagoge and a joyous dinner and family gathering in most Israeli homes. But its also September 11th, a very sad day in Western memory. I have just republished (in the archive section of this blog) my
In our small village in the Negev Desert, September 11, 2001, was a brilliantly beautiful day. The air was clear and dry; one could see far across the landscape—all the way to Jordan and the reddish hills of biblical Moab. Since we had neither a television nor a radio