Tzvi Gluckin

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Aug 29, 2016, 9:34 PM

The Israeli government is giving millions of dollars to Orthodox outreach — and that’s a good thing

Israel's government is making smart funding choices: Non-Orthodox Judaism already had its chance, and blew it

Aug 9, 2016, 1:47 AM

America’s Bipartisan Antisemitism

America has a Jewish problem. It is a bipartisan problem and the election is exposing the worst of it. On the right, Donald Trump’s candidacy has emboldened the antisemitic alt-right. Trump isn’t an antisemite—far from it, and those calling...

Dec 10, 2015, 8:55 PM

Religion kills, right? Maybe not

Religion gets a bum rap. It’s blamed for war, terror, torture, oppression, conflict, and a boatload of other evils. Groups like ISIS and the recent carnage in Paris and San Bernardino don’t do much to dispel that impression. But is...

Jul 25, 2014, 3:38 PM

Palestine Awareness Quiz

You can’t fight the Occupation if you don’t know the facts. Test your knowledge! What was the name of the Palestinian leader deposed by the Israelis at the time of the Occupation? How many years did Palestine exist as an independent...

Jul 8, 2014, 6:05 PM

Making People Religious

I was in New York at the headquarters of a famous Jewish outreach organization. I was standing in the lobby. A man walked in. He was an orthodox Jew. He looked confused—New York is a confusing place—and he asked...

Jun 11, 2014, 6:26 PM

Death to Inspirational Fluff

Jewish organizations love inspiration. They love inspirational programs, inspirational speakers, inspirational trips, inspirational articles, inspirational everything. Love it. Addicted to it. It gives them goosebumps. It makes their knees weak. It makes them giddy like schoolgirls. But - problem - inspiration doesn’t...

May 27, 2014, 6:01 PM

Continuity, Content, and Bagels

I am an orthodox Jew. I wear a yarmulke. I have a beard. I dress Jewish. I look Jewish. And because I look Jewish, random people - other Jews - like to let me know that they are Jewish, too. They approach...

May 20, 2014, 6:02 PM

Intermarriage is still worth talking about

Back in the fifties and sixties, if you were Jewish and you decided to marry a non-Jew, your family went bananas. They threw a tantrum. They sat shiva and wrote you out of existence. The threat was real -...

May 13, 2014, 6:12 PM

You can build it, but they won’t come

I travel a lot. I speak on college campuses and in Jewish communities - Jewish organizations usually sponsor my trip - and many of these organizations meet in massive, beautiful buildings. Buildings that were paid for by the Jewish community. A...

May 6, 2014, 5:53 PM

Holocaust Guilt

No one ever said it. My parents never said it. My rabbi never said it. My Hebrew school teachers never said it. At least, they never said it explicitly. But they said it. “You have to be Jewish and marry Jewish and stay...

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About Me

Tzvi Gluckin is an author and musician. He currently serves as the director of Vechulai, an innovative Jewish think tank located in Boston.