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Barry L. Schwartz

Rabbi, Author, Teacher

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Mar 3, 2026, 12:17 AM

The Book of Mordecai

With no disrespect intended, the Bible got it wrong. The Book of Esther should be “The Book of Mordecai”. But there was good reason to get it wrong. The Book of Esther is a harem intrigue that covers up...

Nov 24, 2024, 9:40 PM

Even in a House Divided

Even in a house divided, there is room. Room to listen; room to learn. Room to conciliate; room to cooperate. Room to rediscover; room to reimagine. Even is a house divided there is room. Room to find common cause; room to forge uncommon connections. Room...

Oct 7, 2024, 7:40 AM

On the Anniversary of Oct.7

For All Our Sins Al het shehetanu For the babies in their beds For the toddlers with their toys For the families in their safe rooms For the kibbutzniks in their courtyards For the farmers in their fields For the dancers in the desert For the maimed...

Sep 19, 2024, 11:39 PM

The Banality of Antisemitism

Hannah Arendt wrote famously about the banality of evil. She was referring to how ordinary people could perpetrate extraordinary evil. Her ideas arose from her witnessing of Adolf Eichman’s trial in Jerusalem. Bureaucrats could be Nazis. Your next-door neighbor...

Sep 17, 2024, 12:11 AM

Jewish Literacy

I chuckled in nervous recognition the other day, when I read a piece that began, “This summer, I paid my 12-year-old daughter $100 to read a book. As far as mom maneuvers go, it was definitely last ditch and...

Jul 13, 2024, 9:30 PM

In the high stakes interview after his disastrous debate, President Joe Biden declared that there was no way he was going to drop out of the race, and then said, with a laugh, “It depends on— on if the...

Feb 27, 2024, 11:49 PM

What Did Oct. 7 Change for American Jews?

Many of us in the diaspora cannot stop talking and writing about Israel since Oct. 7. That is not about to change, with the war against Hamas still unfinished, with so many hostages still captive, and with the worldwide...

Dec 13, 2023, 7:30 PM

PERPLEXITY Twenty Questions for Which I Have No Answer How is it that in much of the world there is “understanding” for the mass atrocities of Oct. 7? How is it that in these same communities there is greater outrage...

Nov 16, 2023, 3:28 AM

Where is God Now?

At times of tragedy, the question invariably arises: where is God now? Whether due to natural disasters (ironically labelled “acts of God” by insurance companies), or humanly induced suffering, the question is posited overtly or lies just beneath the surface. In...

Nov 3, 2023, 6:16 AM

“Tohar Haneshek”: Is There Still a Place for “Purity of Arms”?

Thirty-five years ago, as a young rabbi, and a reservist in the IDF, I wrote an article entitled “Tohar Haneshek” (Purity of Arms): Reclaiming a Jewish Ethic in War. The piece was a plea not to abandon the unique Jewish...

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About Me

Barry L. Schwartz is director emeritus of The Jewish Publication Society, rabbi of Congregation Adas Emuno in Leonia, New Jersey, and author, most recently, of Open Judaism: A Guide for Believers, Atheists, and Agnostics (JPS, 2023).

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