Sam Cohen, at The Blogs

Jul 14, 2026, 10:32 AM

The opening verses of Sefer Devarim contain a detail that seems almost incidental: אחד עשר יום מחורב דרך הר שעיר עד קדש ברנע It is eleven days from Horeb, by way of Mount Seir, to Kadesh Barnea. Devarim 1:2 Rashi notes the painful...

Jul 12, 2026, 3:02 PM

Av: The Tet of Hidden Goodness

After the constriction of Tammuz, the Jewish calendar descends into what appears to be its darkest point. The walls have been breached. The siege has tightened. The shadow of destruction hangs over Jerusalem. Then comes Av. At first glance, Av seems to...

Jul 9, 2026, 11:56 AM

Who Controls the Tap?

For more than a century, the Middle East has been synonymous with oil. It has shaped economies, redrawn alliances, funded wars, built cities and drawn the attention of the world's great powers. Yet the defining strategic prize of the twenty-first...

Jul 7, 2026, 3:03 PM

The Two-Way Hechsher

In one yeshiva I attended, just before Mincha, our Rabbi would share a daily teaching from the Chofetz Chaim, engraving into us the sacred weight of our words. Every conversation had consequences. Every word mattered. Over time, his lessons sharpened...

Jun 30, 2026, 3:01 PM

The Daughters and the Dreamer

Parashat Pinchas opens with five women standing before Moshe. The Torah, however, seems interested in a story that began long before they arrived—a dream that refused to die. As the daughters of Tzelafchad step forward, the Torah carefully traces their ancestry:...

Jun 25, 2026, 3:01 PM

A Letter from Heaven

Some messages arrive through prophets. Others arrive through kings. And then there are those rare moments when Heaven chooses the most unlikely messenger imaginable. Parashat Balak contains one of the Torah's great ironies. Balak, king of Moav, summons Bilaam, the most renowned...

Jun 19, 2026, 11:46 PM

The Gift and the Choice

Before blessing, before prophecy, before national failure itself, the Torah asks a deeper question: What happens when two souls are granted extraordinary gifts, yet walk toward completely different destinies? That question stands at the heart of Parashat Balak through two towering...

Jun 16, 2026, 8:18 AM

Living Moshe’s Dream

Dedicated in loving memory of my beloved Saba, Moshe ben Kudma Meshumar Cohen ז״ל, on the occasion of his yahrzeit, 6 Tammuz 5752. לעילוי נשמת סבי האהוב, משה בן קדמה משומר כהן ז״ל ו׳ בתמוז תשנ״ב ────────────── Parashat Chukat stands as one of...

Jun 14, 2026, 8:18 AM

Tammuz: The Chet of Constriction

After the liberation of Nissan, the healing work of Iyar, and the grand revelation of Sivan, the Jewish calendar undergoes a sudden change in tone. The brilliant light of Sinai begins to fade into the heavy heat of summer, and...

Jun 9, 2026, 8:18 AM

The Staff of Peace

Back in the early 1980s, while living on Kibbutz Ma’agan Michael in northern Israel, I received an invitation that seemed strangely simple. One cold late-winter evening, Racheli—the head of the overseas kibbutz volunteers—told us to meet at the front gate...

About Me

Sam writes on faith, Jewish identity, geopolitics, and the enduring covenant between the Jewish people and the Land of Israel. Living between the UK and Israel, he explores renewal, sovereignty, and the forces shaping the journey home.