When a fellow Jew visiting from the states tells me how much he admires my courage and sacrifice for living in the Land of Israel, what he really is doing is trying to assure himself that he is normal. Deep in his heart he knows that he should be [...]
With all the worrisome talk about Iran, President Obama, the PLO and various assorted “friends” and enemies, it is easy to understand how people can become discouraged about the future of the Jewish State. The fact is that most of us have got the whole thing backwards. Israel is the only country in the world [...]
The German Jew back in the early thirties was a loyal German citizen. He was the last person in the world to dream that Germany could ever become the hellish nightmare that it became. He may even have voted for Hitler, believing that he was good for Germany. He deliberately refused to believe his own [...]
Jewish holidays are far more than festive meals and celebrations. They are living reminders to us of what it means to be Jewish. We remember miracles that happened to our ancestors, and we are reminded that there are miracles yet to come. And, if we are really aware, we should also notice the miracles we [...]
About thirty years ago my wife and I and our three young daughters came home to Israel. There was only one reason why we came. It was because Israel is the only home of the Jewish people and we wanted to be there.
It certainly was not a simple move. Any move, even across the street, [...]
In the 1930s, a Jew by the name of Ze’ev Jabotinski traveled throughout Europe warning his fellow Jews that they were sitting atop a volcano that was about to erupt. He begged them to get up and leave the Exile while they still could and come home to "Palestine" (which in those days was a [...]
As always when I make these visits to the USA I find myself wondering why I am doing this. It seems absurd and futile to even hope to influence Jews to leave the comfortable American Exile to come home to our only homeland. In addition I find myself fulfilling the Jewish role to bring knowledge [...]
How fitting that we find ourselves waiting for a new government at the beginning of the month of Adar. This fact is probably the most hopeful element in that close to futile effort. The month of Adar is the month in which the holiday of Purim occurs and thus it invokes the hope of G-dly [...]
I remember, many years ago, discussing with friends and neighbors in the Jewish community where I then lived, the possibility that America may one day be dangerous for Jews. One fellow boldly stated that the minute he sees such dangers he will pack up and make aliyah. He failed to recognize the futility and impropriety [...]
It is truly amazing how we form perceptions based upon how the media shapes our imagination. Clearly both local and international media portray Israel, in general, and Judea and Samaria, in particular, as a very dangerous place to live. Every bomb and every bullet are reported in graphic detail as terrorists wreak havoc in market [...]