Articles in Politics
Vayishlach: The Self Conscious Jew
The Wedding
What did King David mean when he wrote “I was forgotten from the heart like the dead, I was [remembered] as the vessel went missing?” (1)
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Korach: Let’s Have The Truth
I Want It Too
Moses was leader; his brother Aaron, High Priest. The people accepted this arrangement, knowing the selection was made by G-d. Well, actually, not all the people were happy. Korach and 250 of his friends were jealous; they coveted the position for themselves and brought their complaint to …
Vayakhel Pekudei: Ritual With Passion
The Conundrum
I have a friend, a brilliant intellectual, who does not suffer fools lightly. From time to time I invite him to Synagogue and he reminds me that he does not have much tolerance for those who make too much of ritual and pay little heed to its underlying philosophy.
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Shoftim: Torah or Democracy?
Disenchantment
In the summer in 2009, US citizens unhappy with health care reform, angrily voiced their displeasure with the government in town hall meetings across the United States. President Obama’s approval ratings plummeted to unprecedented lows, yet he continued to push his health care legislation. The opposition charged him with ignoring …
The Apologizing President
The Olive Branch
President Obama has recently returned from his international tour of apology. He has reached out to America’s enemies with the rationale that one must offer an olive branch if there is to be hope for peace. Special Advisor to the President, David Axelrod, described these nations as people …
Passover: The Secret Path To A Moral Society
Just Because
When was the last time you did the right thing just because? In a Capitalist society we are taught to ask, “What’s in it for me” before making an investment. Even our charitable contributions come with strings attached. We insist that our dollars be used for causes that serve …
Vayikra: Humble Gratitude
The AIG Scandal
After accepting a one-hundred-and-sixty-billion dollar bailout from the United States Government, American Insurance Group distributed more than a hundred-million dollars in bonuses and retention fees to its employees; a move that infuriated the congress and the American Public.
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Beshalach: Love of LIfe
Red Sea
An entire nation had narrowly escaped; the army of murderers, bearing down on them just a moment earlier, now drowning in the ocean. G-d had orchestrated a brilliant rescue. Jews stood huddled on the far shore watching their captors toss helplessly about on the surging waves of a plunging …