One of the enduring mysteries of human cognition is how to distinguish between the destructive power of fire and its capacity to illuminate, civilize, and educate. The very same flame that can burn a house down can also cook food to sustain us. A torch can be a weapon of war, and it can also…
Recently, my adult children came to visit me from Canada. As has become our tradition once or twice a year, we make a pilgrimage, as we are all insatiable readers, to The Strand Bookstore in Manhattan. Upon leaving at each visit, my children and I each depart with 4-5 books we’ve found amo…
A few days ago, I was walking through the Delta terminal at JFK, returning from a much needed break with my family. As we walked through the interminably long series of gates, I kept noticing at most of these gates there were one or more Chabad shluchim (emissaries) waiting for flights to fa…
My apologies for not focusing on a positive message this week. Sometimes you just have to tell it like it is.
In the 15th and early 16th Century, the Roman Catholic Church was a globe-spanning endeavor. Under its umbrella were many priests, bishops, and cardinals, but it also was the spirit…
What do you do when your good friend does something that really and justifiably irks, even hurts you, but on a day-in-day-out basis, is as reliable and amazing as she can be? What if that generous, amazing nature is why you became friends in the first place? Will her getting it wrong on one …
It has been an eventful and consequential week, and I wanted to share a few thoughts, hopefully tying them together in a coherent way.
Tuesday’s Presidential and local elections have left some of our community members disappointed or worried, others excited or motivated, and many of us ho…
One of the greatest characteristics of the Jewish people is the dual streams of example and exposition in our heritage. Not only do we have primary sources in our oldest, holiest texts, we also have layer upon layer of commentary, questions, answers, and extrapolation on everything from the …
This past Monday, almost 1500 members of our community participated in our October 7th commemoration at Clover Stadium. One of the most powerful elements of the program was the reading by Hillel Rockland student leaders of a poem that touches on the emotions we’ve all been feeling since Oc…
Sometimes we have an opportunity to demonstrate our love and solidarity and we maybe think - someone else will show up. There will be lots of people there. I don’t have to go. We tell ourselves that we are less needed, less important to a cause, less involved.
It’s not true. You are inv…
There is a passage in the 24th chapter of Mishlei, or Proverbs, that reads “Do not rejoice at the discomfiture of your enemies, and let not your heart be glad when he stumbles, lest the LORD see it and be displeased, and turn away his anger from him.” Often enough the ‘proverbial’ ad…
You probably think from the title that this message will focus on the debate between former President Trump and Vice President Harris that took place earlier this week. I’m sorry to disappoint you.
No, the great debate I had in mind is the distinction between sweet and savory. In most pl…
A couple of days ago, I was standing on a podium, addressing a group of about fifty people, talking about the current situation in Israel. I spoke of the very immediate feelings of shock and dismay at the news of the execution of six hostages by Hamas HYD.
Hersh Goldberg-Polin,
Eden Yerusha…
In 1952, Life Magazine published Ernest Hemingway’s last significant work, his novella ‘The Old Man and the Sea’.
Many of us of course have read it, perhaps more than once. In it, the old and unlucky fisherman Santiago goes out fishing after 12 weeks without a catch.
When he finally …
As many of you now know, several days ago on August 9th, a sermon was given at a local mosque by an individual who was not the Imam or a regular speaker. The sermon was live streamed and uploaded to the website of the mosque. The speaker began in English, but when he continued in Arabic, the…
My regular readers know that I am and always have been a historian. History was my first love, and it sometimes takes you to surprising places.
In the fall of 803 CE, a Frankish army besieged Barcelona, at the time a stronghold of the Ummayad Caliphate. In late October or early November, af…
