Author: David Rutman

    The story of Balaam and his talking donkey is a major problem for serious theologians and scholars of the Bible. If you are not familiar with this gem in this week’s Torah portion, take a look at Numbers 22:20-25, the story that contains the chattering mule. Some people poke fun at literalists who […]

When I was a college student, I began to understand a particular kind of antisemitism that has stayed with me throughout my life. This antisemitism is not loud or violent; it is quietly insidious. People would say, “The Jews sure know how to take care of their own,” as if Jewish institutions were somehow closed […]

Dynamic and engaging Jewish communal professionals are essential for strong Jewish communities. At a moment when synagogues, schools, camps, and nonprofits are facing a decline in participation, changing demographics, and a sense of uncertainty about the future, the talent gap is a grave challenge. A 2023 Leading Edge survey showed that a majority of Jewish […]

It all started with a music festival in southern Israel where peace-loving teenagers spent the night under the stars and awoke to barbarians wishing them their final good morning. What occurred on October 7, 2023 was unimaginable: the slaughter, beheading, and gangraping of kids—some even younger than the concertgoers, who lived in neighboring villages and […]

Since we’re in the Fourth of July spirit, it’s as good a time as any to reflect on the declining state of the Democratic Party and its views of America. As Shane Goldmacher wrote recently in The New York Times, the Democratic Party’s standing “has plunged to startling new lows — 27 percent approval in […]

Where were you on this day? Today is the 4th of July, the 249th Independence Day of the United States. Here in Israel, July 4th has an additional meaning. On this same date celebrating America’s independence, Israeli commandos freed the hostages being held by terrorists in the Entebbe airport. On this day, our IDF heroes […]

Think back to the beginning of June, when we were mourning the deadly attack in Colorado, after an antisemitic terrorist had firebombed a Jewish rally there calling for release of the Israeli hostages. We were watching for signs of progress in negotiations between the United States and Iran over that country’s nuclear capability. Oh, and […]

Halakha and ethics: a case study. There was a custom in Damascus in the 17th century, that for the purposes of tax assessment, the properties of the wealthy were evaluated up to 3000 grushim (the currency at that time), thereby creating a situation that any properties or financial holdings above 3000 grushim were tax exempt. […]

Life is a labyrinth of challenges we have to learn to navigate. There are days when we get lost, and remembering that everything will be okay feels impossible. When every turn seems wrong and the walls feel so tall that we can’t see the silver lining behind the clouds; staying optimistic is hard. Through trials, […]

Israeli ambassador Abba Eban was greeted by an irritating sight when he rose to speak in Harvard University’s Sanders Hall on a chilly Tuesday evening in the autumn of 1970. A group of anti-­Israel extremists in the gallery had unfurled a banner denouncing “Zionist imperialists” and tried to shout Eban down when he began to […]