Robert Lichtman, at The Blogs

Nov 30, 2023, 9:35 AM

The people of Israel are deliberating the fate of the hostages and the waging of war to secure long-term peace in the land. If this were a movie, we might expect a happy ending where both objectives are achieved...

Oct 30, 2023, 11:25 PM

The butterfly and the messiah

This essay honors Rabbi Meyer Fendel, Founding Dean of the Hebrew Academy of Nassau County; Rabbi A. Simcha Teitelbaum, z”l, Founding Dean of the Yeshiva High School of Queens (both of whom had a photograph of Rabbi Abraham Isaac...

Oct 19, 2023, 5:48 AM

Annihilating Evil Will Not Win Israel The Miss Popularity Contest

It is easy and appropriate to point out that in this week’s parasha of Noah, God destroys the entire world, except for Noah and his family, because the world is filled with evil, Hamas. Other ancient civilizations recount a catastrophic...

Sep 14, 2023, 6:27 AM

Lost, and Found, In Space

As Jews, we hold these truths to be equally and simultaneously self-evident: The world was created for me. I am but dust and ashes. Rabbi Simcha Bunim expressed the concurrent exuberance and insignificance of human existence that is meant to...

May 17, 2023, 6:02 AM

Are Two Days of Yom Tov Too Good to be True?

Yom Tov is a beautiful thing. Two days of it – even better. As a Jew in the diaspora, I welcome the double days of holiness, acknowledging that it is not always so welcome by holiday-preparers and people whose...

Mar 24, 2023, 12:06 AM

The agunah key: A true story that never happened

ANCIENT TORAH FRAGMENT DISCOVERED; POTENTIAL RESOLUTION TO AGUNAH CONUNDRUM (Tapuz Ma’arav) Archeologists and Biblical scholars have concluded their years-long secret analysis of a fragment of ancient parchment that may provide a new approach on how spouses who are chained in...

Feb 15, 2023, 9:50 PM

The way we pray for one another is (fill in the blank)

They line up silently as the Torah and the congregation listen carefully. One by one a name is whispered and then amplified for all to hear. These are the names of the dead whose memories are brought back to...

Jan 1, 2023, 10:59 PM

It Is What It Is No More

"Change is easy!" Said no one, ever. Two people were discussing how their synagogue might change with the selection of a new rabbi. “I want a rabbi who will create an environment where my grandfather would feel comfortable," said...

Oct 12, 2022, 5:52 AM

Pursuing Partnership Over Perfection

Many of us are familiar with the joyful idea that as soon as we finish reading the Torah, we start all over again. And while this is celebrated as a way in which we demonstrate our love of Torah...

Jun 17, 2022, 7:26 AM

Re-imagining the image of God

Our tradition provides many examples to teach us that no one of us is better than any other of us. That all humans are created from the same Divine mold. That all of us are descended from the same...

About Me

Robert Lichtman lives in West Orange, NJ and draws upon his long tenure of professional leadership to teach and write about strategic issues and opportunities impacting the Jewish community, and other things. He writes his own bio in the third person.

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