When God instructs Adam in Eden from which tree he is forbidden to eat, the instruction is fairly clear. God said, but: “You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.’” (Gen. 3: 2-3). Genesis 2 differentiated between the tree of knowledge and the tree that was in the midst of Eden. Knowledge, and how it is communicated, can cause all sorts of problems. SMARTPHONES CAUSE DEPRESSION – You have probably seen the headline in capital letters more than once. Sometimes they add ANXIETY too.
A Research Journey: From the Père Lachaise Cemetery to the Waddesdon Manor to Ramat Hanadiv
In my book Ideology and Landscape, which is about reinterring Zionist leaders in the homeland, I devoted a chapter to the reburial of Baron Edmond de Rothschild in Ramat Hanadiv. He and his wife Ada (Adelheid) were reinterred there in April 1954 in an imposing public ceremony. An Israeli battleship brought the coffins from Marseille to Haifa, and from there they were transported to the majestic burial estate south of the Carmel.
The Month of Av: Mourning, Pride, Love
This Thursday I will be marching in the gay parade in Jerusalem, after marking Tisha B’av (the Ninth of Av) earlier in the week, with the reading of Lamentations and other customs associated with mourning.
Baseless Hatred: The Kotel and Conversion Bill Controversies
The Kotel belongs to the entire Jewish people; and “Who is a Jew?” is not an Israeli issue but rather an issue facing Klal Yisrael, the collective Jewish people throughout the world.
The Kotel Controversy: Like Hillel and Shammai, All Voices Must be Heard
The Kotel and conversion laws are ones that deal with intense controversies that divide the Jewish people. Surveys, including one conducted by the Schechter Institutes last month, say that most Jews in Israel are in favor of the Kotel compromise. Thus, even if the government has different stances, they must debate these issues in the light of day and not in secret. They must debate this issue not just when the dominant Haredi ultra-Orthodox voices are present, but also when those opposing Kotel restrictions are present.
Survey Results Are In: 62% of Israelis Believe Everyone Should be Allowed to Pray at Kotel Survey Commissioned by Schechter President, Doron Bar
62% of Israelis believe that everyone should be allowed to pray at the Kotel in accordance with egalitarian practice and free of any separation between men and women! Only 9.2% believe that non-Orthodox streams and Women of the Wall should be forbidden to pray at the Kotel.
From a Sacred City to a Capital City (and back again?)
I was born two years prior to the Six-Day War when Jerusalem was still a divided city, with barbed wire and concrete walls separating the two sections. Jerusalem totally changed by the time I grew up. It became a city without borders, an exciting and fascinating place, whose spaces were accessible to everyone. One could experience the city on a personal, one to one basis. My urban encounter spanned the entire city…
Passover for the Soul Bringing spirituality to our seder celebration
Israelis celebrate Passover in one of two ways: either by closely sticking to laws of Pesach related to hametz and the Seder, or by hiking in nature and joining family for a relaxed festive meal. This year experience the family Seder meal as a celebration of a new beginning, and find personal meaning in the story of Exodus from Egypt.
Secular Israelis have Grown Up
Distress signals sent out by secularists in recent months have been picked up loud and clear by the Secular Forum, though stridency does not necessarily ensure soundness of the writers’ arguments or best serve their interests. The most important step of any strategy is precise analysis of a given situation. Incorrect analysis leads to hasty action that fails to solve the problem or actually exacerbates it.
Secularist Neturei Karta
In recent months, acrimonious public debate has been raging in Israel over Jewish education enrichment programs. The Secular Forum has been especially vociferous against what it terms “religionization” in non-orthodox state schools, sounding the alarm at the prospect of secular children coming into any contact whatsoever with Jewish content. Were it not for the religious Minister of Education imposing his Jewish agenda, goes secularist reasoning, their children could be studying philosophy, Darwinian theory of evolution, and even Shakespeare.
