Articles tagged with: antisemitism
Why They Hate Us
In a small village in Lithuania, a young boy named Berel received a bicycle as a gift. Berel loved his bike and drove it every day, including Shabbat. The Rabbi heard about this and announced that Berel should henceforth be referred to as Berel the goy—the non-Jew. Berel heard about …
We Are Not Victims
This Shabbat, the 2’nd of Sivan, will be three-thousand-three-hundred-thirty-six years since G-d declared us a kingdom of princes. However, when our enemies take potshots at our children’s schools, it is hard to feel like a kingdom of princes. Nevertheless, that was precisely how I felt when I watched footage of …
Antisemitism Rears Its Ugly Head
Antisemitism has reared its ugly head again. It is no surprise. Antisemitism never really went away. Our sages taught that antisemitism is an unchanging, intractable scourge. Esau will always hate Jacob.[1] The only question is how close to the surface it lies.
The story of Esau and Jacob appears in the …
The Jewish Core Emerges
The Jewish core has emerged stronger than ever these past few weeks. The monstrous massacre, compounded by the public blaming Jews for it, was a murderous double stab to the collective Jewish heart. The fact that some of our decades-long friends and neighbors have turned on us so suddenly left …
Purim: The Response to Antisemitism
Purim represents a victory over antisemitism. Haman was the preeminent antisemite. He didn’t need a reason to hate Jews. He hated them because they were Jewish. Any of his reasons were excuses on which to hang his hat, but they weren’t his primary reasons.
Let’s look at the story of Purim …
Shemot: Why They Hate Us
They hate us. Not for anything we do or did. They just hate us. The past month saw a near-daily rash of attacks against Jews. These weren’t isolated attacks by right-wing radicals and white supremacists. These were attacks by ordinary members of the black community against Jews in New York. …
Purim: Jewish Identity
Can we deny our Jewish identity? This question was a subject of debate among Jews since the advent of the Jewish enlightenment. Reeling under the burden of antisemitism, many Jews concluded that if they were to conform in dress and behavior to the wider population, they would blend in and …
Pinchas: Anti-Semitism
Jewish Surprise
As the Jewish word recoiled from the murder of three Jewish teenagers in Israel, Jews the world over were shocked by news of a Palestinian youth’s murder in Jerusalem. But with the shock came deep disappointment at the response of World leaders, who condemned Jews for this murder even …
