Libi BaMizrach

One thing Donald Trump cannot be accused of is dragging his feet.    The dizzying pace of Executive Orders booming out of the Oval Office since the first moment has been described variously as a firehose, fevered, a flurry. . . it is hard to catch one’s breath as the pace of change comes fast and furious on so many issues.  I cannot remember a time like this, where before you digest one major story two more come out, with some dramatic nonsense stories in between ( e.g. crowd size at the inauguration, how many illegals voted, etc); it is hard to keep up.   Given, in addition, the deep division between those who love him and those who hate him it is – at a minimum – non-stop entertainment, and makes it difficult to pull oneself away from all that and focus on learning and other important matters. The purpose of this article is not to get into politics. While I was not a Trump supporter throughout the campaign, I must say that I mostly approve of his acti...

Virtually every Rabbi started their sermon this past Shabbos with a similar theme, I am quite sure.  The juxtaposition of the inauguration of President Trump with the verse from Parshat Shmos “ And a new King arose ” was too providential to ignore.   No matter what one thinks, in this very divided country, about the new President, it is certainly an exciting time to be living, with great promise of change in the air. In the Orthodox Jewish community, of course, there is particular excitement, given that, for the first time, Orthodox Jews have such proximity to the most powerful human on the planet (at least for the next few years).   The long list includes Jason Greenblatt, special representative for international negotiations, David Friedman, Ambassador to Israel, and Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner, who is clearly Trump’s most trusted advisor and right-hand man.   The President has made it abundantly clear that he is very pro-Israel and intends to ...