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Concerned About the U.S. – Israel Relationship
By
Brad Hirschfield
When generally wise and level-headed Israeli Ambassador to the United States, Michael Oren, declares that relations between the two countries are at a 35 year low point, a certain measure of concern seems warranted by even the most confident and optimistic among us. And those are the words Ambassador Oren used over the weekend when…
Cursing Jews in the Name of God
By
Brad Hirschfield
According to the guests gathered in a Great Neck, Long Island home who came together to celebrate a little girl’s first birthday, Rabbi Mordechai Aderet stormed in to the party and rained down curses like an ancient biblical prophet. Sharon Udasin of the New York Jewish Week describes the scene as follows: ‘After “shrieking Hebrew…
Texas Showdown about God and History
By
Brad Hirschfield
The Board of Education for the State of Texas enters the second of a three-day meeting devoted to the state’s social studies curriculum which includes U.S. history, government and much more. As the nation’s second largest purchaser of public school textbooks, what gets decided in Texas actually effects many of the rest of us, regardless…
Intermarriage and Proselytizing in Judaism
By
Brad Hirschfield
This morning’s press release from the 121st meeting of the Central Conference of Reform Rabbis made me smile. Whatever one thinks about the substance of their statement on intermarriage, there are lessons there for all of us – lessons about keeping things in perspective and appreciating that even the most radical things often become entirely…
What Message Should VP Biden Carry or Be Given?
By
Brad Hirschfield
Before arriving in Israel for 5 days of talks with Israeli and Palestinian leaders, Vice President Joe Biden reached out to leading members of the Jewish community for guidance. Frankly, I hope that he also reached out to leaders in the Palestinian community with similar questions. Now I ask you: what message do you hope…
Blaming Rape Victims Because of Their “Ungodly Dress”
By
Brad Hirschfield
Imagine being handed a pamphlet which asserted that rape victims should look to their clothing as an explanation for being raped. Imagine being handed that pamphlet as you pulled up at the drive-thru window of a local fast food place. Well, you don’t need to imagine it, because it’s actually happening. In parts of Virginia…
Watching the Academy Awards and Waiting for the Messiah
By
Brad Hirschfield
On Sunday, tens of millions of viewers will sit down to watch the Academy Awards. Endless attention will be paid to the celebrities walking down the Red Carpet, who they’re with, and what they’re wearing, with plenty of follow up on who won, what they said, and how they looked. While extremely entertaining, how healthy…
Hating Science in the Name of God
By
Brad Hirschfield
For religionists to position themselves against scientists is a very old tradition, but it feels like things are getting worse. Today’s New York Times features a front page story under the headline: Darwin Foes Add Warming to Targets. The story details increasing efforts by people hostile to teaching evolution as solid science, to broaden their…
What Is Talmud For?
By
Brad Hirschfield
There are many answers to the question and the next question which it evokes i.e. why study Talmud?, but I have not seen any better than the one offered by Professor Jacob Neusner, one of the most important talmudists of the past half century. Interviewed by the Jerusalem Post, Professor Neunser had this to say:…
What Maureen Dowd Doesn’t Get
By
Brad Hirschfield
Writing in today’s New York Yimes, Maureen Dowd fails to appreciate that simply because someone draws a comparison between two things, does mean that the two are meaningfully comparable. I may compare the severity of breaking my toe to someone else having lung cancer, but that doesn’t mean I should be taken terribly seriously. And…
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