Pondering the state of American Jewry
Rabbi Shmuel Auerbach didn’t feel well in the hours leading up to Shabbos. Rushed to the hospital, he died on Shabbos. Perhaps a fitting end for a man born on Yom Kippur. His passing was sudden, and his loss is felt keenly in Jerusalem. Rav Shmuel was close to Rab Eliashiv and Rav Shach, and …
A recent article in Mishpacha Magazine, from Rabbi Moshe Grylak relates a story about Israeli Jews who have moved to the U.S., and how intermarriage is affecting them. In the story, one expat Israeli blames another expat for the fact that his son is about to marry a non-Jew. Why? Because the congregation didn’t offer …
One synagogue is banning the music of Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach for a period of one year, because of allegations of abuse toward the late rabbi and singer songwriter. This is the era of #MeToo, which means that such allegations are accepted without question. Even when they concern a dead person who cannot give testimony. Banning …
In a recent CNN debate between Palestinian Authority (PA) diplomat Saeb Erekat and MK Naftali Bennett, Christiane Amanpour appeared to be helping Erekat out by feeding him his lines. Amanpour suggested that President Trump’s recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital was “music” to Bennett’s ears. Erekat then used the line as if it were indeed, …