News

 I spoke with a respected staffer at the OU, who told me he was at a rally for Israel in Great Neck earlier this week that was well attended by Israel supporters, politicians, and clergy. A Reform rabbi expressed his solidarity with Israel, which truthfully was a pleasant surprise. Of course, the expected “but” followed.

 When the Navi Shmuel (Samuel) confronts King Saul for sparing the life of Agag, the king of Amaleik at the time, he issues a strong rebuke: “Though you are small in your own eyes, you are the head of the tribes of Israel, and Hashem anointed you to be king of Israel.” For this misplaced modesty, Saul was ultimately stripped of his kingship.

Dear Liberal:

For me, the fun and games are over. It’s not just political scuffles anymore. It is real. I have experienced the drastic effects of liberalism firsthand. Truthfully, so have we all, as Jews and lovers of Israel. So have all people with normal values and concerns.

 A number of years ago, my father zt”l was looking for a speaker for the shul’s Yom HaShoah program. He contacted the agent of a famous Holocaust survivor and author to see if he could get him to address the audience for the event.

 One of the more intriguing phenomena in Jewish history was the bamah. A bamah was an altar built for sacrificial purposes. An official bamah was constructed as part of the Mishkan, which functioned as the Jews wandered in the desert and was known as the Mizbei’ach. It had the status of a bamah g’dolah, a major altar. The same is true of the bamah g’dolah in the sanctuary of the Beis HaMikdash.

 The Yated Ne’eman, the chareidi weekly newspaper published in English in America, has a very worthwhile weekly feature called “The Chinuch Roundtable.” The “Roundtable” consists of a panel of seven to nine prominent educators who respond to questions posted by parents on chinuch, or educational matters. Very often, the questions hit upon vital child-rearing principles.