Open Search form

Benjamin Blech

Apply for a Blog

Mar 2, 2026, 12:24 AM

When Politics Revert to the Playground

Attend a political rally today—of almost any ideological stripe—and you are likely to see signs that would once have been unthinkable in public life. The name of a political opponent is often preceded by a four-letter word that polite...

Feb 5, 2026, 2:43 AM

When ICE Became the Gestapo

Words matter. They are the vessels that carry moral meaning across generations. When they are stretched beyond recognition, they do not become more powerful; they become useless. That is why the recent spectacle surrounding Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)—now casually...

Jan 12, 2026, 4:50 AM

The Plague of Protests

This development represents more than a tactical change; it marks a profound erosion of moral meaning. When causes can be populated on demand by individuals with no prior involvement, no organic connection, and no sustained commitment, protest ceases to...

Dec 13, 2025, 3:13 PM

Why should we care what Mark Ruffalo thinks about Marwan Barghouti?

Marwan Barghouti in court, April 3, 2003 (Flash90)

It’s not just that celebrities calling for the release of a convicted terrorist are wrong; it’s that they risk drowning out real expertise, real voices and real victims

Nov 26, 2025, 1:26 PM

When a City Tells Jews They May Not Flee

There was a time when “never again” meant something. Today, it risks becoming a slogan stripped of memory. A dangerous idea, once thought buried beneath the ruins of Europe, is quietly resurfacing in American political culture: the notion that Jews...

May 30, 2025, 12:51 AM

Shvuot & the Cause of Antisemitism

This coming week, Jews around the world will gather to celebrate Shavuot—a relatively little-known holiday outside the Jewish community. It marks what tradition calls the most defining moment of moral and spiritual history: the giving of the Ten Commandments at...

Mar 13, 2025, 6:17 AM

Masks and Purim

Masks & Purim Recognize anybody from among the hundreds of Columbia and Barnard students protesting for Hamas as well as the destruction of Israel in the aftermath of the October 7th massacre? Hardly likely. The proud Ivy Leaguers proclaiming ethical...

Jan 6, 2025, 7:27 AM

After 65 years as a rabbi, I think I know more than a little bit about human nature. So trust me when I share with you a truth about the most dangerous time for rational people to act irrationally and...

Nov 17, 2024, 2:32 PM

The one-word explanation for the presidential landslide

By now I think I have heard all the explanations. Yet the Trump landslide surely deserves the inclusion of the solitary one word answer that somehow escapes legitimacy in our contemporary society. So far the most common response to the totally...

Apr 17, 2024, 9:32 PM

‘Take the win’

Three words capture the profound pathos of Jewish history – past and present. Three words convey the tragedy of the world’s oppression of the Jew. They are the unspoken yet self-understood prejudice against the one people whose simple existence seems to...

Load more

About Me

Rabbi Benjamin Blech is a Professor of Talmud at Yeshiva University and an internationally recognized educator, religious leader, and lecturer.