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Sam Lehman-Wilzig

Jul 3, 2026, 1:15 PM

Israel: Four Nations Divided by a Common (Dis)Communication System

The recent news about social media has focused on various countries’ efforts to legislatively prohibit social media use by youngsters. That’s a positive micro-turn, but not the macro-threat that is really undermining social cohesion and even democracy: the characteristics...

Jul 2, 2026, 3:04 PM

1,000 Days Since Oct. 7 & the Torah Study Law

Today marks 1,000 days since the tragic events of October 7, 2023. It has been 1,000 days since the failure that led to the massacre. We remember the hostages and honor the heroism of hundreds of ordinary citizens who...

Jul 1, 2026, 11:47 PM

Torah Scholar Deferments

Last week while I was davening shacharit in my Dati-Leumi shul, a young man approached me and asked me to contribute to a Wedding fund. He was bearded, dressed in a black suit, black hat. I interrupted my prayers...

Jul 1, 2026, 10:02 AM

How reading ‘Besheva’ reminded me of the old joke about Jewish power

The widely distributed free weekly Besheva, identified with Israel's so-called Hardal (Haredi-nationalist) community, reminds me of the joke about the Jew who made a point of reading antisemitic publications describing our immense power, so he could reassure himself that...

Jun 28, 2026, 3:22 PM

No loyalty without citizenship

In recent years, I have devoted myself to developing the field of civics education. In a sense, this brings my own story full circle. As a child in the Haredi education system, civics was not part of my world....

Jun 25, 2026, 10:39 AM

Book review – Heart of Wisdom: The Teachings of Rabbi Moshe Chalkowski

Some of the world’s most dangerous physical jobs include commercial fishing, logging, and mining. In the spiritual world, the role of mashpia or mashgiah carries its own unique set of dangers. The role of these individuals is to provide...

Yochanan Schimmelpfennig

Jun 24, 2026, 8:39 PM

The Haredi Threshold

The Haredi draft crisis is no longer a sectoral dispute. It is not merely about manpower, coalition bargaining, or the familiar slogan of sharing the burden. It is a test of whether the State of Israel still possesses a...

Yochanan Schimmelpfennig

Jun 21, 2026, 3:09 PM

Bnei Brak Is Not a Failure of Modernity

Bnei Brak should stop being discussed as if it were merely a demographic inconvenience, a political irritation, or an embarrassing relic at the edge of Israeli modernity. That description is too easy, and like most easy descriptions, it protects...

Jun 21, 2026, 7:07 AM

Book review – The Eyes of Isaac: Ophthalmic Care through the Prism of Judaism

Analogies use two main ideas: the target (what you want to explain) and the source (the familiar idea used to explain it). The Maharal, in his commentary on agada, notes that Chazal never chose a source at random. They...

Paul Mendlowitz

Jun 14, 2026, 9:44 PM

How the Ultra-Orthodox Rabbis Destroyed Reason and Common Sense – Victims Galore

There was a time when Judaism produced giants who saw no contradiction between Torah and reason. The greatest example remains Maimonides, the Rambam, who was simultaneously a rabbi, physician, philosopher, scientist, and legal scholar. He believed that the human...

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