Nittel Nacht
Jews of the 21st century may comment, or even grumble, about the pervasiveness of Christmas in our society, but, let's be honest, in this day and age, the effects of the holiday season…
Barry Commoner for President
In 1980, Barry Commoner, a prominent biologist, environmentalist and author of Jewish parentage, ran as a candidate for the President of the United States. As the third party candidate…
What’s in the Book – Zechariah
Like many of the later prophets, the Book of Zechariah has more prophecy than narrative. The first prophecy of Zechariah occurs during the second year of the reign of King Darius…
The Five Prohibitions of Yom Kippur
"...on the tenth of the month, you shall afflict your souls and do no work at all...for on that day God will forgive you and cleanse you, that you may be clean from all your sins before…
A Page A Day
The 7th of Cheshvan (today) is the yahrtzeit of Rabbi Meir Shapiro, the Lubliner Rav, who passed away in 1933. Although he died at age 46, he had by then changed the face of European…
A Poet and A Martyr
Hannah Senesh (Szenes) was born in Budapest, Hungary, to an assimilated, middle-class family. An avid diarist from the age of 13 until her death, Hannah maintained a personal journal that…
The Ban on Philosophy
Rabbi Shlomo ben Aderet (a.k.a. the Rashba 1235-1310) was born in an age of controversy. The Jewish world was still unsettled over the first blend of “philosophy and Torah” produced by…
Nittel Nacht
Jews of the 21st century may comment, or even grumble, about the pervasiveness of Christmas in our society, but, let’s be honest, in this day and age, the effects of the holiday season…
Spinoza
Any student of philosophy will be able to tell you about Baruch (Benedict) Spinoza, and indeed, the name probably seems vaguely familiar to non-scholars as well. Yet, as is the case with…
The Population Question
The Malthusian theory of overpopulation is a popular doomsday prediction. Thomas Malthus (1766 -1834) proposed that population increases due to improved standards of living would lead to…