“Blessed be G-d, Blessed be He; Blessed be the One who Gave the Torah to His people Israel, Blessed be He. Corresponding to four sons did the Torah speak; one [who is] wise, one [who is] evil, one who is innocent and one who doesn’t know to ask.”  (Passover Haggadah) The section of the Four Sons is

On July 5, 1945, the world witnessed one of the greatest “betrayals” in the annals of human existence. Two months after the Allied victory over the Nazis, in one of the most crushing political upsets in history, Winston Churchill was defeated in English Parliamentary elections. Shockingly, one of history’s greatest leaders, who led a weakened

As we conclude the four parshiot that deal with the stories of Jacob and his sons, we are again confronted by unresolved questions about Jacob’s actions as a father. The question of how could Jacob openly favor Joseph surfaces again in our parsha: it appears that Jacob repeats the same mistake by openly favoring Ephraim

One of the most famous paradoxes in Judaism, which ties into this week’s Parshat Re’eh, is Hillel’s statement in the first chapter of Ethics of our Fathers: “If I am not for myself then, Who will be for me?” Hillel clearly states that we must be autonomous, independent and not rely on others for our

After last year’s War in Gaza, I was speaking to a soldier in the Israel Defense Force (IDF) who served in the elite Golani Battalion. I asked the soldier if he was scared; and if he was, how did he deal with his fear. The soldier replied that he was scared during the war. He