Aaron Benson, at The Blogs

Feb 28, 2023, 10:29 PM

Haman’s decree came early this year. A group, likely of little significance itself, but magnified to gargantuan size by social media, has called for today to be a day of hate. A day to attack Jewish communities and Jews. Still, if...

Feb 19, 2023, 5:48 AM

Can You Murder AI? Parshat Mishpatim

Can you murder AI? It’s not a crazy question and it’s not just a question for a science fiction novel or movie. For one, how would you kill something without a body and for another, would you be murdering...

Jan 28, 2023, 1:21 PM

The Brutal Truth of International Holocaust Day

International Holocaust Memorial Day is not a Jewish holiday. That is on Yom haShoah in the spring on the 27th of Nissan. It ties into the Warsaw ghetto uprising, and it is also part of series of special days...

Aug 4, 2022, 11:42 AM

Tisha b’Av Defeats Antisemitism

“Germany was so nice before the Nazis came.” Apropos of nothing more than the pleasant day we were having, so said my European-ordained rabbi while I was walking with him to shul once. At that time, in the tail...

Jul 20, 2022, 11:40 PM

Jeb, Julian, and Religious ‘Truth’

“If it isn’t, it oughta be.” So says the character of Jebediah Nightlinger, played by Roscoe Lee Browne, in the John Wayne film, The Cowboys. It’s said in answer to a question, “is that true?” after he tells a...

Jun 25, 2022, 3:03 PM

Featured Post

The queen, the rabbi and making you matter

Queen Elizabeth II and Paddington Bear, at tea. (Twitter)

Real-life problems, as well as the everyday joys of life, are made better by that queenly wave, the pomp and circumstance. Or even the presence of a rabbi.

Jun 3, 2022, 8:06 PM

Uvalde: Thoughts and Prayers or Good and Evil

I hate when people offer “thoughts and prayers” after a shooting like the one this week or the one in Buffalo the week before. Or any of the others our country experiences. And I also hate calls of, “we need...

About Me

Aaron Benson is a Conservative rabbi on Long Island, serving at the North Shore Jewish Center. He is the current president of the Suffolk County Board of Rabbis and a chaplain for the Suffolk County Police Department.

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