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Sep 2, 2026, 12:42 PM

The Endless Scroll for Peace: Why do I keep fighting on social media?

Why do I keep posting my pro-Israel views on Facebook and Instagram? Why do I still naively believe that I have finally constructed the one defining argument that can persuade a friend, a former classmate, a neighbor’s son… who holds an opposing view? It’s been...

Stephen M. Flatow

Aug 31, 2026, 5:55 PM

And the Award for Best Everything Goes To…

The business behind “Best Dentist,” “Best Pizza” and other local awards — who wins, who pays and why your inbox is full of voting pleas Every few days, another urgent message arrives in my inbox. Vote for us as Best Dentist. Vote for us as...

Aug 27, 2026, 6:59 PM

Ki Tavo: Crazy Vs. Stupid

Tehillim Legacy Journal - QR

Crazy or Stupid? These are two words that I would like to discuss this week. There is a certain feeling we feel after we do something impulsive. Like when we are speaking to a salesman about a certain product and you know that you want...

Stephen M. Flatow

Aug 26, 2026, 4:59 AM

Now it’s Hannah’s turn

A granddaughter leaves for a year of study in Israel, carrying Alisa’s Hebrew name—and beginning her own journey of Jewish growth, independence and discovery. Today my granddaughter Hannah left for Israel to begin her gap year. That sentence is easy to write. The emotions that...

Aug 25, 2026, 5:16 PM

What a Hostage’s Mother Taught Me About Staying Human

There is a precise, suffocating fog that settles over a home when waiting becomes a full-time job. It isn’t just the terror of what might happen. It’s the quiet, daily erosion of the mind living inside an eternal “maybe.” In Israel, and across the Jewish...

Aug 19, 2026, 7:32 PM

Ki Teitzei: Action

Life and Its Purpose - Grok XAI

Many times in our life we think of things and never end up acting upon them. In many cases we simply forget that we even had this thought. It is forgotten until it is remembered. At times we are reminded periodically of them but still...

Stephen M. Flatow

Aug 18, 2026, 6:03 PM

In Israel, a missing soldier is everyone’s son

Forty-four years is a long time. It is long enough for governments to rise and fall, wars to fade into history books, children to become grandparents and young soldiers to become names on memorial walls. But apparently it is not long enough for Israel to...

Aug 13, 2026, 8:17 PM

Shoftim: Tzedek

Tzedek - Grok XAI

Devarim 16:18: Judges and enforcers you shall give to yourself in all of your doors, i.e., cities that Hashem your Lord gives to you and your tribes. And they will judge the nation a right judgment. The word Tzedek is mentioned a lot in...

Joseph C. Kaplan

Aug 6, 2026, 11:08 PM

Exchange with a very good friend

A number of friends of my generation who rarely comment on my columns emailed me about my latest, where I discussed my contrasting feelings toward America’s bicentennial and semiquincentennial (“Belated Anniversary Wishes”). Many, including one who actually attended our bicentennial bash, made the point that...

Aug 5, 2026, 8:53 PM

Re’eh: Proper Vs. Improper Intent

Mount G'rizim and Mount Eival. Blessing and Curse. Lishmah and Shelo Lishmah. Grok XAI

I always love when Elul approaches. All the decrees of last Rosh Hashanah that have yet to be fulfilled will unfold in the next few weeks, and so too, all the promises and resolutions I’ve undertaken back then should, at last, be implemented. I...

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