Author: David Rutman

When my children were born, I assumed teaching them Torah would be easy. After all, I have a PhD in Talmud and am married to a rabbi. I worried about plenty of things—sleep schedules, tantrums, and other typical toddler woes—but Jewish education? That seemed simple. How wrong I was. As my children entered preschool, I […]

Jew-haters must have felt some ambivalence after 6 million Jews perished in the Holocaust. How are we going to demonize these guys now? I thought about those Jew-haters as I watched scenes of mangled Jewish bodies in the must-see film “Nuremberg.” The Holocaust was so horrific some argue that the Jews got an unofficial “reprieve” […]

Dear all, Growing up, I often felt awkward when someone wished me “Merry Christmas.” Do I gently explain that I don’t celebrate? Do I reply with “Happy Holidays”? Do I simply say “Merry Christmas” back and move on? For years, there was no answer that felt quite right. Ironically, it wasn’t until I spent a […]

“If we’re going to run another story about a topic that has by now been much-covered we need to advance it,” CBS editor in chief Bari Weiss wrote in a letter to her producers explaining her decision to shelve a “Sixty Minutes” segment. The segment, titled “Inside CECOT,” reported on the Trump administration’s controversial deportation […]

On the third night of Chanukah, I sat in our living room in front of our menorah, placed right up against our large picture window. It’s where we light every year, as our tradition calls for: we publicize this miracle. We want the world to see our small but mighty lights. Small and mighty, like […]

Antisemitism has often been described as a “virus of the brain,” and there is no better example of its effects on critical thinking than Tucker Carlson’s bizarre assertion that Qatar—a transactional dictatorship—is the U.S.’s “greatest ally.” At the same time, Israel is a “one-way street” with no tangible benefits. This assessment fails on every strategic […]

I didn’t expect to receive a lesson in dignity when my friend and I began watching “Singing in the Rain” the other night. Lately, we’ve been enjoying old movies for their innocence. We’re tired of hip, cool and snarky. Just give us honest entertainment, hold the sarcasm. That’s what I was expecting—pure, honest entertainment, and […]

It was the morning of Monday, December 15. Just one day earlier, Jews had been massacred at a public Hanukkah celebration at Bondi Beach in Australia. Like every Jew, I was heartbroken. And I was scared. I was planning a Hanukkah party to take place the next night at Robertson Rec Center in Pico-Robertson, in […]

Eli Sharabi recently visited Sinai Temple. He explained that when he and Almog Sarusi were forced to go down into the tunnels, Eli resisted, at first refusing to go underground. Hamas terrorists put a gun to his head. Eli realized that even through this horrific moment, he had a choice. Live or die. His message […]