Ops & Blogs | The Times of Israel » Aaron Kalman

A soldier’s Seder on the Lebanese border

Aaron Kalman — Sun, 24 Mar 2013 13:53:00 +0000

We parked the jeeps at one of our usual spots, near Israel’s northern border with Lebanon, and took out our food. While we had eaten many of our meals along our patrol route in the weeks before, that night was different from all other nights. It was the first night of Passover, and we — [...]

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‘We all have a face’ – an idea for Purim, by Billy Joel

Aaron Kalman — Fri, 22 Feb 2013 11:29:50 +0000

Purim is a Jewish festival filled with colorful costumes, parties for all ages and (very often) more alcohol than needed. But, it’s also a holiday with some serious thought-provoking stories and ideas — as relevant today as they were centuries ago. In his 1977 award winning album “The Stranger,” Billy Joel presents us with one [...]

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Remember: Moses and IDF soldiers with no graves

Aaron Kalman — Sun, 17 Feb 2013 15:19:20 +0000

Sunday marks the national remembrance day for IDF soldiers without an official burial site. It’s no accident that the seventh day of the Hebrew month of Adar was chosen as the date to mark such a day — according to Jewish tradition, it is the day Moses passed away. Choosing the traditional anniversary of Moses’s [...]

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Limit the cabinet size, for Israel’s sake

Aaron Kalman — Mon, 28 Jan 2013 18:58:21 +0000

The coalition talks are (unofficially) underway. Though President Shimon Peres has yet to task Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu with the formation of Israel’s next government, the media is full of speculation over the end results of the negotiation game, with everyone listening to anything said by anyone, so long as it sheds some new light [...]

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Did fundamental values matter in the elections?

Aaron Kalman — Thu, 24 Jan 2013 13:52:00 +0000

Israel’s 2013 elections were, it seems, the elections of names, faces and personalities; the ideology behind them apparently less important than it used to be. On Tuesday the Israeli public went to the polls, and nearly 70% of the country chose the 120 people who will call the shots and make decisions that affect our [...]

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What the Tenth of Tevet can teach modern Israel

Aaron Kalman — Sun, 23 Dec 2012 00:10:22 +0000

Like a phoenix, the Jewish nation has been felled and reborn from the ashes of its destruction time and again. Numerous stories of destruction and salvation are threaded throughout the Hebrew calendar. But only a few dates during the year mark events that took place more than 2,000 years apart. Today is one of them. [...]

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We are the generation now

Aaron Kalman — Mon, 25 Jun 2012 15:35:00 +0000

“We are the now generation, We are the generation now. This is the now generation, This is the generation now” In a short and concise verse in their 2009 song “Now Generation,” the Black Eyed Peas managed to capture the presumed essence of my generation, the now generation of no-patience-immediate-gratification. The successful American hip-hop group drove their [...]

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Lag BaOmer, the burning question of ‘why?’

Aaron Kalman — Wed, 09 May 2012 17:47:45 +0000

The Talmud tells us stories about those who wish to understand why Jews act in strange ways and worship god through bizarre rituals. These questions are answered in different ways. One famous answer is given by Rav who, after being asked about ritual slaughter, says Mitzvot – decrees — are meant to forge humans. Whether it [...]

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Why? Because Israel is my home

Aaron Kalman — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 16:13:41 +0000

This is my home. It’s where I was born, went to school and got married. Israel is where I played basketball and skinned my knees while hiking, where I annoyed my parents and loved my siblings. In between those routine actions, which many 24-year-olds around the world can relate to, I also heard explosions rock [...]

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