Libi BaMizrach

I write the day before the Israel election. Tomorrow we finally vote. And I keep coming back to one question: Why are they so afraid of us? Why the attacks? Why the rally in Bnei Brak, which they say drew close to 100,000 people?  Why did Rav Landau say he would fight us with all his strength—and compare voting for our party to eating on Yom kippur or eaing chametz on the Seder night?? Really? What terrible agenda are we proposing that calls for this kind of response? What Are We Actually Proposing? We are not calling for the yeshivos to be closed. Quite the opposite. We believe that anyone who is seriously learning full-time should be able to continue learning, and that his right to do so should be protected. The “controversial” idea we are promoting concerns the thousands of young men who are not learning full-time but are still claiming an exemption, much to the frustration of the rest of the country. We want to give them the tools to build a life in which they can remain p...

In the beautiful new book After the Davening , which presents the teachings of my beloved  Rebbe , Rabbi Michel Twerski Shlita ,  he offers a searching way to measure whether we are living the Torah we profess. * In this week’s parashah , Hashem tells Avraham , “You shall be a blessing,” and promises that “through you all the families of the earth shall be blessed” (Bereishis 12:2–3). Rabbi Twerski explains that Klal Yisrael is meant to teach by example. Jewish life should be so inspiring that when people wish someone well, they might say, “You should be like so-and-so, the Jew.” Our way of life should make others want to wish Jewish qualities upon the people they love. A Torah Life That Inspires Others Rabbi Twerski asks us to apply that standard personally: “Anyone who considers themselves to be B’nai Torah ” should ask, “Would anybody be moved to want to be like me? Would anybody be inspired by me?” That is a serious test. We may keep the letter of the law, yet fail to ...

We are currently in a state of affairs where rabbis are silenced, families threatened, and private gatherings have become dangerous places to express opinions. In the Haredi world, religious persuasion has turned into political coercion and is carried out in the name of Torah. This needs to change. A Home Gathering Becomes a Test of Loyalty I tried to organize a small gathering in a private home in Afula, where I live. I was not organizing a rally or asking a synagogue to sponsor a political event. I wanted to sit with people, explain why I am passionate about the HaTzibur HaCharedi party, and discuss questions that deserve an honest conversation inside our community. I did not even consider asking the local shul where I used to daven to host the gathering. I knew that a shul connected to the campaign could face pressure, and I did not want to put its members or its plans for expansion at risk. Instead, I asked a friend who shares many of my concerns whether he would open his home...

Israel discovered some new heroes this week. When a FlyDubai flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv suddenly plunged toward the ground after the captain was stabbed in the cockpit, an extraordinary series of events unfolded. Almost miraculously, among the passengers were people with precisely the skills needed for the emergency they suddenly faced. Some were able to overpower the attacker, others cared for the wounded, and still others had the ability to help take control of the aircraft and eventually bring everyone safely to the ground. It would be unrealistic to imagine that every ordinary group of passengers could have done what this group did. But what mattered was that, when the moment came, people stepped forward and did whatever they were capable of doing. They did not know how the story would end. They saw that lives—their own and those of everyone around them—were in mortal danger, and each did what he could. Surely many prayed to Hashem for help, and the extraordinary combination of ...