Tikkun Bayit as Tikkun Olam: How Deep Jewish Literacy Can Fix Our Fractured House (… Part 2) Last week, I argued that disagreements over Israel and Zionism threaten to fracture the Jewish community more profoundly than any external threat in our history. But...
The Last Muslim Hero On today’s date in 1169, Salah ad-din Yusuf ibn Ayyub became the Emir of Egypt. Last month, our World Religions class learned much about this notable Muslim leader. His name came up in two different contexts. The first was during our foray into...
So Which Is It? Today is the 28th of Shevat on the Jewish Calendar. According to Tractate Ta’anit, on this date in 134 BCE, Antiochus V abandoned his siege of Jerusalem and his plans for the city’s destruction. As such, this day was observed as a holiday in...
It’s Not a Right, It’s a Privilegium! “It’s not a right – it’s a privilege!” I cannot tell you how many times I heard this common classroom rejoinder to a fellow student’s request to leave the room… And I cannot tell you how many times I, as a...
What is the Masorah? The Torah comes with a great deal of baggage. After several thousand years as the Torah of the Jews, its baggage is sophisticated and significant. The traditions surrounding the Torah text, our Biblical Text – Five Books of Moses –...
The Statute of Westminster @ 92: A Canadian Coming of Age Story 92 years ago today, Canadian Prime Minister William Lyon MacKenzie King said the following: “The British Commonwealth of Nations has shown the world a new conception of the relationship of states to...
