Libi BaMizrach

As we begin recounting the incredible story of Moshe Rabbeinu once again, a question that bothered me for years (and I am sure that I am not alone in this) is given the hostility of Pharoah to the Jews, and Moshe in particular, how is it that Moshe seems to be able to waltz in and out of the palace whenever he chooses? We know from many sources the incredible life and death power that the Pharaohs had over everyone and everything in Egypt and the whole Middle East, including Eretz Yisrael. (Not the subject for today, but historical and archaeological sources prove this beyond a doubt). So how is it that Moshe was personally exempt from any control by the Pharaoh? Moshe the Miracle Man I know of three approaches to answer this question. The first is the Midrash, which tells fantastic stories of the supernatural assistance that Moshe was given. Lions, rodents, and other animals would come with him and frighten the Egyptian guards and Pharaoh hims...

 Living in Israel has its ups and downs, like everywhere else, but sometimes things happen that remind you that you are living in the most special place on Earth. Since we have been living in Migdal HaEmek I have become close with Shmuel Yosef, a wonderful young Ethiopian Jew.  We interact mainly in two locations.  First, the local Ethiopian shul is around the corner, and I find myself going there often. When I first came to town, I was a bit wary of attending, given the drama that went on years ago regarding the question of their Jewish lineage. The issues have been dealt with in different ways; I will not delve into the matter in this essay.  Briefly, some great Rabbonim said that they might need a Giyur LChumra (conversion as an extra assurance), as some of their observances differed significantly from the rest of Klal Yisroel, from whom they had been separated for thousands of years. Others, particularly Rav Ovadia Yosef זצ"ל held that they should be accepted as ...

Although most Israelis would have no idea what I am talking about, most Americans consider Rosh Chodesh Elul to be the day after Labor Day, regardless of the Jewish Calendar.  Before Labor Day we are too busy with the Lazy Hazy Crazy Days of Summer  to take Elul seriously.  No matter that the Rambam writes that the sound of the Shofar calls us to “ Wake up sleepy ones, arise. Review your deeds, repent, remember your Creator. To those who forget the truth and engage all year in empty pursuits and matters that are ultimately worthless; think about your souls. Improve your ways and your deeds and abandon your sinful path (Teshuva 3:4). Summer is no time for such heavy thoughts. However, for those paying attention, Hashem provided us with quite a wake-up call this year, as He often does. Twenty years ago, on the 23rd day of Elul we experienced September 11; a day that forever changed our perspective on our safety and security in the United States.  This year, we had sev...

Once again, Tisha B’Av approaches. As we have done so often, we will mourn the Churban, and lament how Sinat Chinam (baseless hatred) caused so much pain and suffering. And yet, the problem of baseless hatred is still with us, seemingly growing by the day.  (Baseless? See my essay from last year  Sinat Chinam: Baseless or Inexcusable? ) There is so much anger and division in our communities. So many people harbor hatred for others, simply because they disagree sharply with their political or religious views. We suffer on national, communal, and personal levels. In America, the nation is divided as perhaps no time since the Civil War.  In Israel, the disparate factions of the new government are bound together only by hatred of Netanyahu. As for Netanyahu and the opposition, they are interested only in causing the new government to fall, no matter the issue. Communities are rent apart; former friends and relatives barely speak to each other because of political differences ...

The Jewish world lost a unique and special individual this week.  Justice Tzvi Tal, of blessed memory, was one of those rare individuals who truly embodied the dictum of the Gemara Yoma 86a: Abaye said: “And you shall love the Lord your God”  –  you shall make the name of Heaven beloved. How? One should learn Torah and Mishna, serve Torah scholars, and be pleasant with people in one's business transactions. What do people say about such a person? Fortunate is his father who taught him Torah, fortunate is his teacher who taught him Torah, woe to the people who have not studied Torah. See how pleasant are his ways, how proper are his deeds. The verse states about him and others like him: “You are My servant, Israel in whom I will be glorified” (Isaiah 49:3). Born as Tzvi Elimelech Teitelbaum to a Hassidic family in Poland, Justice Tal came to Eretz Yisrael at a young age. He loved Torah and general knowledge and supported himself through yeshiva high school by working part...

Ah, Politics.  The national pastime of Israel – everyone has an opinion; a nation of prime ministers as the old Golda Meir line goes.  After four elections in the past two years, one would think we are inured to really worrying about the outcome, or lack thereof.  But this time around, an earthquake is happening, and it is deeply worrying. In this week’s Parshat Hashavua, we read about the sorry tale of Korach.  The Mishna in Pirkei Avot (5:17) famously offers the arguments between Hillel and Shammai as a prototype of an “Argument for the Sake of Heaven”, while the protagonists of an “Argument Not for the Sake of Heaven” are Korach and his conspirators.  A question asked by many is why does the Mishna cite “Korach and his conspirators”?  Surely, the negative parallel case to Hillel and Shammai ought to have been Korach and Moshe!  A famous answer given by the Malbim is that a sine qua non of an “Argument for the Sake of Heaven” is that each side repres...

Dateline: Friday morning, Lag B’Omer, Tzfat (May 31) Last night, long before the disaster happened, I basked in my curmudgeonly smugness. We came to Tzfat for the holiday weekend as my wife and kids excitedly anticipated joining the hundreds of thousands in a long night of singing and dancing in honor of Rav Shimon Bar Yochai in nearby Meron.  Although Lonni tried valiantly to get me to join her, I was quite content to sit on my mechutan’s mirpeset (balcony) in Tzfat and look at the lights of Meron across the valley.  I generally do not like endless singing and dancing; I wonder what the revelers are thinking about and how much it really has to do with Ahavas Hashem.  I question how it connects with the rather severe personality of Rav Shimon that we meet in the Gemara.  Maybe it is my nature as a Yekke or a cynic – I felt little connection to the crowds that I was grateful to avoid. And then, shortly after midnight, I heard a siren.  And another.  And th...

The last two weeks have been excruciating for Trump voters. Virtually all major media, the intelligentsia, all the Democrats, and even many Republicans tell us that the man we supported for President is guilty of "sedition." That he led an "insurrection" in an "attempted coup" or "putsch" that sought to destroy democracy in America.   We are guilty by association with cretins wearing "Camp Auschwitz" shirts who attacked the high citadel of America. We should cower in silence and shame over the travesty and horror that we aided and abetted. We must be fired from our jobs, cast out of polite society, and have our social media accounts shut down.   Even more so, if we dare to continue asserting that there were serious questions about the election that were never properly resolved.   In fact, all such claims have been thoroughly “debunked”; all the lawsuits Trump’s team brought were tossed out of court for lack of evidence.   Senators Cru...