Author: Sara Wood

Photo Credit: Jewish Press Self-criticism can sometimes help us improve ourselves, but feeling greatness and elevation can help even more. Rabbeinu Yonah, who passed away 756 years ago this week, wrote prolifically from the city of Girona, in medieval Spain, about repentance and self-improvement. He explains that if we only remember who we are and […]

Photo Credit: Majdi Fathi/TPS Palestinian Islamic Jihad rally in Gaza City The majority of Gazans killed in this month’s clash between Israeli forces and Islamic Jihad terrorist organization in the Gaza Strip were terrorists, the Israeli-based Meir Amit Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center (ITIC) found after an in-depth inquiry into the identities of the Gazan fatalities in […]

Photo Credit: Yonatan Sindel / Flash 90 Supreme Court Justice Salim Joubran (C) sits with Supreme Court Justice Nil Hendel (L) and Supreme Court Justice Uri Shoham at the courtroom of the Supreme Court in Jerusalem before the start of a court hearing, July 5, 2016. Families of victims of terrorism are outraged after Israeli Supreme […]

Photo Credit: Abed Rahim Khatib/Flash90 Members of the Hamas terror arm, Izz a-Din al-Qassam Brigades, in Deir Al Balah refugee camp, central Gaza Strip, May 6, 2018. The daily tabloid Al Akhbar, published in Beirut, on Friday reported: “Renewed contacts with Hamas: The enemy is optimistic about a long truce.” According to the report, Egypt, […]

Photo Credit: Asher Schwartz (((CLICK BELOW TO HEAR AUDIO))) Are you blessed if you trick your own father to get his blessings? Rav Mike Feuer joins Rabbi Yishai in an attempt to snatch a blessing from the Torah portion of Toldot and understand the root of the rivalry between Yaakov (Jacob) and Esav (Esau). Then, […]

Photo Credit: Jewish Press In this week’s parshah we read about the story that we are all familiar with, the sale of the birthright (bechorah) from Eisav to Yaakov Avinu. The Torah tells us that Yaakov Avinu was cooking a lentil stew as Eisav came in from the field exhausted. Eisav notoriously said to Yaakov […]

Photo Credit: Cajander via Wikimedia European Union flags in front of the European Commission building in Brussels {Originally posted to the JNS website} The following quotes are from Jewish citizens of various European countries, gathered during a survey earlier this year on Jewish perceptions of anti-Semitism that was carried out by the European Union. “Anti-Semitism […]

Photo Credit: Jewish Press This past week in New York, Sotheby’s held their annual fall sale of antique Judaica, which featured ceremonial objects, paintings, books, and manuscripts that were of interest to collectors, dealers, and museums worldwide. The sale results were a mixed bag, with half of the lots offered going unsold. However, as tends […]

Photo Credit: Jewish Press Murray Bowen, one of the pioneers in the field of family therapy, noted that families have a system of psychological interconnectedness. For example, anxiety in one family member tends to have an emotional snowball effect on the other members of the family. For psychological health and wellness, it is important for […]

Photo Credit: Screenshot Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont speaking at J Street National Conference in Washington, D.C. At the recent J Street conference, Bernie Sanders outlined an Israel policy that raises several questions. I’m not one of the moderators at the Democratic debates, but if I were, I would ask him: Senator Sanders, when you […]