If we are to have peace between Israel and the Palestinians (and the rest of the Arab world), it would be most helpful if people understood the historic context of the conflict. Misguided individuals and countries who forget history, who ignore or deny Israel's rights, who look the other way when Israel is maligned and attacked--such people are part of the problem, not the solution.
Zina Schiff, a concert violinist, has performed and recorded on five continents. Her first recording was the solo violin score for MGM's The Fixer, and a major focus of her 16 CDs is classical Jewish music. This article appears in issue 28 of Conversations, the journal of the Institute for Jewish Ideas and Ideals. It was reprinted in issue 35 of Conversations.
When confronting those who wish to harm us, we need to offer words of peace and understanding. We need to seek to defuse antagonism by engaging in reasonable conversation. But at the same time, we need to be strong and courageous. We need the antagonists to know that we are ready and able to defend ourselves.
The Holocaust shows how low humanity can sink. It is an eternal warning to all people to promote love, tolerance, mutual respect. It's not just about Jews; it's about all humanity. Wake up! See what is at stake! Never again means never again...ever! We post this article in connection with Holocaust Memorial Day, January 27, 2025.
Marc B. Shapiro's books and articles are always superb. His presentation of scholarly ideas and religious and secular practices, ancient and modern, Jewish and non-Jewish, is explained engagingly. “Renewing the Old Sanctifying the New: The Unique Vision of Rav Kook” is such a book.
The life and works of R. Joseph Messas remain of great importance. He showed that traditional Judaism can encompass a great diversity of thought, and that even in matters of halakha, often thought to be the most "closed" of all Jewish disciplines, there is a myriad of interpretive possibilities to which we can avail ourselves.
Thinking Jews should be standing up for a genuine modern Orthodoxy that insists on functioning in contemporary world-time. While facing modernity has its real challenges, not facing modernity will lead Orthodoxy into a cult-like existence-- out of touch with reality, out of touch with the needs of thinking and feeling human beings…out of touch with Torah itself.
Book Review
Dr. Moshe Sokolow, Pursuing Peshat: Tanakh, Parshanut, and Talmud Torah (Kodesh Press, 2024)
By Rabbi Hayyim Angel
Just as a bride is festooned with 24 trinkets and if she lacks even one, she is nothing, so must a scholar be familiar with all 24 books [of the Bible], and if he lacks even one, he is nothing (Song of Songs Rabbah 4:11).
Book Review
By Rabbi Hayyim Angel
Rabbi Gil Student, Articles of Faith: Traditional Jewish Belief in the Internet Era (Kodesh Press, 2024)
We all can learn from the Joseph model. We can strive to be efficient and pragmatic while also being compassionate and considerate. It’s good to be strong…and emotionally healthy.