Todd Berman, at The Blogs

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Oct 1, 2024, 1:25 PM

A different day of judgement

Beginning Wednesday night, Rosh Hashanah, the day of judgment, begins. According to tradition, God sits upon the divine throne in the heavenly palace with the books of life and death in his hands. We poetically relate to this idea...

Jan 23, 2024, 3:52 PM

The sky over Jerusalem is crying

Twenty-one reserve soldiers died last night. They were people, humans, not caricatures of toy soldiers. They were sons, grandsons, fathers, brothers, and good friends. Each had dreams and futures never to be fulfilled. The news has only released some of...

Jan 3, 2024, 11:33 AM

Shemot and the IDF – names not numbers

Starting a new book is an exciting event. Exodus, called “Shemot” or “names” in Hebrew, begins, surprisingly, by reminding us who went down to Egypt: (1) And these are the names of the sons of Yisrael who came to Egypt...

Dec 26, 2023, 11:18 PM

Of music, war, and racism

I vividly remember waking up early on January eighteenth, 1991. At around 2 AM, alarms sounded, rousing me from my bed in the dormitory at Yeshivat Har Etzion in Alon Shevut. At the time, I lived with two recent...

Oct 26, 2023, 5:54 PM

On the death of children in war

The barbarism and cruelty committed by Hamas terrorists and their many supporters shook all people of conscience to the core. These extremists came by land and air, they were defeated by sea, to kidnap toddlers and older people, broadcast...

Oct 22, 2023, 2:55 PM

How can we pray? Abraham’s answer

I'm dedicating this in memory of Samantha Woll z”l, who was murdered this past Shabbat, and in the name of all the murdered and captured Israelis hy”d. * * * Over the weekend, I spoke to a friend in the US....

Oct 16, 2023, 3:55 PM

When staring at the gaping abyss, look for the helpers

What do we want from poor Noah? God decides to unleash a horror on the world. He declares that a flood will drown every human besides Noah and his family. Instead, They are responsible for saving all living creatures....

Oct 9, 2023, 12:56 AM

Hamas chose to pervert the divine image

Of the many messages that leap out of the first chapters in Genesis, perhaps, none hold more importance than the declaration that man was created in the image of God. "God created man in His image; in the image...

Oct 5, 2023, 12:54 PM

Dizengoff, the Temple Mount, and the Western Wall: One for all or all for none

Illustrative: Israeli police on the Temple Mount. (Sliman Khader/Flash90)

All 3 have called for religious freedom, led to doubting others' sincerity, involved the court and police, and resulted in violence. We need a new kind of tolerance

Sep 20, 2023, 5:53 PM

Selichot – God’s prayer

And the Lord passed by before : Whenever the Jewish people sin, let them perform before Me this order, and I will forgive them." ( Rosh HaShanah 17b) Prayer is one of the most basic of human instincts. From time immemorial, people...

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About Me

Rabbi Berman is the Associate Director at Yeshivat Eretz HaTzvi. In addition, he has held numerous posts in education from the high school level through adult education. He founded the Jewish Learning Initiative (JLI) at Brandeis University and served as rabbinic advisory to the Orthodox community there for several years. Previously, he was a RaM at Midreshet Lindenbaum where he also served as the Rav of the dormitory.