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Jul 30, 2026, 6:43 PM

Four Questions for task of Heshbon HaNefesh

This week we begin the countdown to Rosh Hashanah. On July 23rd we communally commemorated Tisha B’Av, the date according to our tradition that marked the destruction of the First Temple (586bce) and the Second Temple (70ce). Many other...

Yochanan Schimmelpfennig

Jul 29, 2026, 7:02 AM

Democracy Is a Courtesy

Democracy Is a Courtesy Israeli public discourse is impressively democratic. Every few days, someone announces that democracy is in danger: the courts are attacked, the attorney general is targeted, ministers question institutional limits, and independent offices are treated as irritating...

Deborah Villanueva

Jul 28, 2026, 8:08 PM

Reproductive Justice and the Sacred Work of Care

As a licensed clinical social worker and doctor of social work, I have spent much of my career sitting with people during some of the most vulnerable moments of their lives. Sometimes those moments involve trauma, grief, violence, poverty...

Jul 28, 2026, 1:56 PM

Is Social Media Quietly Undermining the Sanctity of Marriage?

"Comparison is the thief of joy." Theodore Roosevelt's timeless observation may never have been more relevant than in the age of Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook. Over the past two decades, social media has transformed every aspect of modern life. It...

Daphne Lazar Price

Jul 28, 2026, 1:54 PM

The moral clarity of Boy George

Boy George performs with Italian Senhit, representing San Marion in the first semi-final of Eurovision 2026. (Screenshot, YouTube)

With so many choosing silence or worse, it's shockingly refreshing to hear an old favorite defend my people's humanity. I'm fan-girling all over again

Robin Goldstein

Jul 28, 2026, 12:10 AM

When the Home Team Changes: The Courage to Admit We Were Wrong

My first career was as an attorney. In law school, I learned that the opening statement is the most critical part of a trial. Once people choose a side, they become fiercely resistant to change; altering an opinion requires...

Mihran Kalaydjian

Jul 27, 2026, 8:53 AM

The Higher the Office, the Greater the Responsibility: Why Zohran Mamdani’s Rhetoric Matters

Every elected official has the right to express deeply held political convictions. Not every elected official serves the largest Jewish community outside Israel. That distinction is what makes New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani's rhetoric about Israel worthy of far greater scrutiny...

Jul 26, 2026, 4:51 PM

One syllable. Infinite disappointment

Yochanan Schimmelpfennig

Jul 26, 2026, 5:49 AM

The Usurpation of Israel

British Jews are increasingly asked to prove their loyalty to Israel by suspending judgment of the Israeli state. This demand is presented as solidarity, but it reverses the Hebrew ethical order. Israel does not exist to release Jews from...

Jul 25, 2026, 11:12 PM

Why I Choose to Raise My Son in Israel

This morning, I found myself crying while staring at my son. So small. So pure. So unaware of the weight of the world he was born into. You will grow up in a country where war is often the headline, where peace is...

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