Libi BaMizrach

I am proud to the have the honor of being a semi-regular columnist at the Queens Jewish Link , and have come to really love this publication. It is a breath of fresh air as compared with many other Orthodox publications, as below. When the editors of the QJL and I were contemplating this arrangement, we struggled somewhat with what my byline should be. Ultimately we came up with “ Middle of The Road ”.  That is because perhaps my greatest passion as a writer and speaker on Jewish topics is on a re-assertion of what, in my view, used to be mainstream values in the Orthodox community – neither “Ultra-Orthodox/Chareidi” nor “Religious Zionist/Mizrachi/Modern Orthodox” – but rather what used to be the predominant “Middle Path”, now seemingly absent from the public square of Jewish Thought and Practice.  (I have written about this at length) . I continue to believe that the silent majority out there still identifies with this point of view, although it is sadly shrinking due...

There are some problems that cry out for a solution  – that tug at the heart of any decent person who cares about justice and compassion for victims of abuse – that have defied resolution and thus cause much frustration and heartache.  Well-meaning people long for a magic wand that will finally solve the problem, restore justice, peace and sanity and end the power of the abusers, and thus understandably continue to try to find novel solutions.  A solution, however, that causes even worse problems than the one it comes to solve, is worse than no solution at all.   Unfortunately, it appears that the new “ International  Bet Din for Agunot ” that has been publicized recently is just such a non-“solution”. The distressing problem of Agunot – commonly referred to as “Chained Women” – is one of the most vexing in the observant Jewish world. It is much publicized, and – contrary to those who consider it a “women’s issue” – it is a problem that inflicts suff...