MainOpEds Rabbi Dr. Aryeh Hirsch![]() A bullet in Beit ElA 7 year-old Jewish boy standing at his bedroom window is all the motivation a PA Arab with an Oslo Accord gun needed. Some suggestions that will make these Jew-hating murderers think twice before taking gun or knife in hand.![]() Mario Lemieux and Bnei AkivaRav Chaim Drukman is under attack for helping out Rav Moti Alon. We can learn a lot from Mario Lemieux.![]() You will be better off in IsraelShould we say: Go live in Israel not only because G-d said to go, but because you will be better off, your children will be better off, and all of you be changed for the better and grow in your new country, in ways you just cannot in Galut![]() My Yom Ha'atzmaut shtreimelThe Klauzenberger Rebbe had the definition for the success of a Jewish state all figured out. But he didn't expect it to happen immediately.![]() Wicks trump wickednessChashmonai-spirit says that nothing is too insignificant for those who love Life to get involved in.![]() Rabbi Neriya on Jerusalem DayThe words of the late founder of the Bnai Akiva yeshiva and ulpana network about Jerusalem Day.![]() Peace and HanukkahJudah vs. Joseph![]() An Akeida in JerusalemHow come the angel saved Yitzchak?![]() Pinchas( Diaspora): Good things, small packagesIsrael needs those who bring about change.![]() Chukat (Diaspora) and LGBTThe parsha with an emphasis on death teaches us much about life.![]() The flag of the State of IsraelThe flag is the symbol of everything the Jewish State should symbolize.![]() 'Twas the last day of Hanukkah - the meaning of Zot HanukkahThe light that overcomes the darkness.![]() Gay MarriageGay Israelis sound exactly like their counterparts in the US, 25 years ago. In the US, the gays are winning their battle to undermine traditional morality, in court, in the media, and even in the dictionary.![]() Disengagement Plus Ten: Why We Cry on Tisha B’AvCry for the beloved country, cry for the moral cowardice that leads to sacrificing others rather than take a stand.![]() Disengagement Plus Ten: The Tragedy of Gush KatifWhy we cry on Tisha B’Av.![]() June 7, 1967: Rabbi Goren and JerusalemRabbi Goren created a new prayer for the city that belongs to the Jewish people forever.![]() Rav Wozner, Rav Kook and the OmerThe Jewish people as a synergetic entity.![]() We’ve Shot Ourselves in the Foot- AgainThe Religious Zionists have to learn to open the ranks or the left will win.![]() Shalshelet: The Return of the ThreesThe Hashmonians knew that victory was assured, no matter what the numbers. 5,000 Jewish soldiers could face ten times as many Greeks, it made no difference.![]() Breishit: MovementMoving forward, moving cyclically.![]() Ki Tavo: The Blessings of an Understanding HeartWhy the order in our Parsha, Ki Tavo?![]() A Just WarA war that could have been fought differently.![]() Albert Einstein and the ParshaThere is a connection. Read on.![]() A National Day of IntrospectionYom Kippur is a day for individual introspection, this year Tisha B'Av calls for national rethinking.![]() A New Middle League: Trade Peres for David BlattSpoof: With the rumored move of Maccabi Tel Aviv basketball coach David Blatt to the NBA, a whole new arena of activity can open up for outgoing President Shimon Peres, as he leaves office.![]() The Sadigura Rebbe and Yom Haatzmaut‘Ribbono Shel Olam (Master of the Universe), may it be Thy will that I merit to take a broom and sweep the streets of Eretz Yisrael’, he prayed.![]() Pesach: The Mouth of JacobOur Rabbis said that in the Exile of Egypt, our power of speech was in exile, and required redemption from enslavement. That is still true.![]() Purim and the Green LineThere is an ultimate plan to history, G-d’s plan, and even while nothing gets in its way, we humans still paradoxically maintain full freedom of choice and action.![]() Shabbat, Mishkan , and AdarIt's all about cooperation.![]() Drinking Kiddush WineCan several people drinking from the kiddush cup add up to the required amount?![]() MK Uri Orbach and "V'Rapo Yerapeh"MK Ofer Shelach of the Yesh Atid party presented legislation to allow assisted suicide in Israel. Contrast that to a Jew's morning prayers.![]() Hannukah VisionJoseph is compared to the Kennedy's.![]() Breishit and the World of JusticeJustice and basic, inalienable truth are the basis of our right to this land.![]() A Chazan's Prayer for Kol NidreiA cantor (chazan) expresses his feelings before the sacred and solemn Kol Nidre service.![]() Today the World was ConceivedCan the world have been created by chance?![]() Justice in the Courts vs. Justice in the TorahJustice the Torah way is not justice by politically correct ethical feelings. Elul is the time for some judiciary soul-searching.![]() The Death of Gay MarriageA response to this week's US Supreme Court decision. The Torah is explicit on the attitude to gays.![]() After the Death of Gay MarriageA clear explanation of the Torah attitude to homosexuality - and the future plans of fighters for gay marriage.![]() Yom Ha’atzmaut on Haneviim StreetRabbi Drukman opens our eyes to the meaning of Yom Haatzmaut - and the writer finds it on a Jerusalem Street.![]() President Obama's Four QuestionsThe President's questions met with questions of our own - as Jews are wont to do. What are his answers?![]() MIshpatim: Coercion and the IDFThe Jews were coerced into accepting the Torah, according to our sages, but there is a difference.![]() Interactions Between Parshat Miketz and HanukkahHow we can mature into a nation worthy of its Fathers.![]() Mother Rivka's Call to Arms: Rav Kook on Jewish PowerIt is time to read religious Zionist Torah sage and first Chief Rabbi Avraham Yitschak Hacohen Kook's words on Jewish militarism, translated by the writer.![]() The Noah PrincipleMankind remembers Noah, and the lessons of this week’s parsha still resonate in men’s hearts, 4,116 years after the Flood. So it’s relevant to ask: Why?![]() Summing Up Sukkot: Zman SimchatenuConnecting Sukkot’s Simcha, brotherly love, and the new cycle of Torah readings which starts this weekend.![]() Vacationing in This Blessed, Holy LandA land of streams and springs and underground waters, flowing into valleys and mountains” ( Parshat Eikev, Devarim 8;7-8).![]() Counting The Omer - Then and TodayThe writer brings a 'systems analysis' of the Omer period and some thoughts for today.![]() The Weirdest Things One Could DoThe story of the weirdest of peoples - the Jews - trumps all the phony, hollow and ultimately inadequate human philosophies and ideals ever devised.![]() Purim and the Bomb; Livni or Lau and Begin?Whom to believe: Livni, a failed politician who was one of Israel’s weakest, wimpiest FM's; her weak policies landed us in the pickle we are in today, or two Holocaust survivors, PM Begin and Rabbi Lau, who held the highest positions in this land.![]() Shiur by Rav Drukman: Sinai and Anti-SemitismA summary of lectures on anti-Semitism by Rav Chaim Drukman, Shlita.![]() Chanukkah: The Price (Tag) of PeanutsRead to the end to understand a Torah view on price tag operations.![]() Chaim Weizmann and the Heart of the MatterZionists today, both with and without kipot, are driven by the same spirit that drove Avraham Avinu so long ago, and Chaim Weizmann so recently, as in the fascinating story below.![]() Parshat Breishit : Orot Mei’OfelThe author explains that the Rambam, when writing of happiness, is not saying that we are to serve the Lord happily; rather, he’s saying that our service is Simcha, being happy, living happily. Ed. Note: Dr. Hirsch on the Shalit deal is at end.![]() Shoftim: Happy Birthday Shimon PeresYou won’t find any 'settler', nor any true son of Israel celebrating the career of Shimon Peres. The parsha helps explain why.![]() Tisha B'Av and the Options MarketWe all know the type who has all the “answers” in every situation, but never THE answer, never the solution to the main problem because he doesn't even know that there is one. |