Pacing Change

Natural or Supernatural?

A People That Dwells Alone?

Descartes’ Error

What Made Joshua and Caleb Different?

Two Types of Leadership

The Pursuit of Peace

Liminal Space

The Complexity of Human Rights

What Makes God Laugh

Moshe’s Disappointment

Healing the Trauma of Loss

Hierarchy and Politics: The Never-Ending Story

Two Kinds of Fear

The Sound of Silence

Retribution and Revenge

Near the end of Bamidbar, we encounter the law of the cities of refuge: three cities to the east of the Jordan and, later, three more within the land of Israel itself. There, people who had committed homicide could flee and find protection until their case was heard by a court of law.

Retribution and Revenge

Even justified acts of bloodshed, as in the case of war, still communicate impurity. That is what lies behind the idea of revenge.

Oaths and Vows

Can freedom and order coexist in the human sphere? Can there be a society which is both free and just at the same time?

Elijah and the Still, Small Voice

To preserve tradition and at the same time defend those others condemn is the difficult, necessary task of religious leadership in an unreligious age.

The Curse of Loneliness

The battle against antisemitism can be won, but it will not be if Jews believe that we are destined to be alone. That is Bilaam’s curse, not God’s blessing.