The major story in Israel today is one that affects the Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria directly.  It is the story of the Ulpana neighborhood in Bet El, a relatively large community in the Benjamin region of Samaria.  Many years ago, the community of Bet El purchased land adjacent to the community from a […]

Thus shall you bless the children of Israel, it is to be said to them: May G-d bless you and keep you, May G-d shine His face upon you and be gracious to you, May G-d turn His face to you and grant you peace.

To this day, all first-born sons to a Jewish mother are ‘redeemed’ in a special ceremony which represents the divine statement that the Nation of Israel is holy.

For centuries, anti-Semitism was fueled by a belief that G-d had abandoned His people, that the promises that had been listed specifically in the Bible for the Jewish people were no longer relevant.  Medieval Christian theologies were based on this premise.  But it is the clear statement in verse 44 that belies this idea, for G-d explicitly states that, despite exile and deserved punishment, G-d will never break His covenant with us.

  I spoke to Nomi Teplow the other night and it gave me a little twinge in my heart when I realized it was Sunday night and the women’s choir was assembling in her living room.  And I wasn’t there…  The past two years I stopped going to choir practice when life got a little […]

The Sabbath reminds us that G-d created the world and we are commanded to rest one day each week, to stop our activities of work and creation and devote ourselves to spiritual pursuits. The land does the same in the seventh year and reverts to its original owner in the 50th year, after seven Sabbatical cycles.

  What a topsy-turvy week this has been for Israeli politics.  Just a few days ago, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu made it clear that he was moving towards early elections, and initiated legislation in the Knesset to send Israel to the polls the first week of September.  Then just this morning, Netanyahu announced a new unity […]

The child of a mixed marriage between a Jew and a non-Jew will always be confused, will lack a clear identity and will have trouble relating to God.

  My friend and neighbor, Lenny, is back at work this week after taking off for the week-long Passover holiday.  Lenny is the creator, owner, manager and chief baker for his bakery, here in Karnei Shomron, and Passover, with its strict and inherent prohibitions against eating leavened bread, gives him a forced vacation!  But during […]

Today is the day after Passover and everything goes back to normal.  Last night we were up late washing and drying dishes, putting away the Passover dishes and taking out the regular dishes, stripping the beds from the company that stayed with us for the holiday, and starting on the mounds of laundry that always […]