“The only clue to what man can do is what man has done.” RL Collingwood

At the conclusion of the recent movie Nuremberg this quote flashed across the screen. It reminded me of a related concept, an idea shared by the German-Jewish philosopher Theodor Adorno - “After Auschwitz no further poems are possible, except on the foundation of Auschwitz itself”. We are all the products of the events that shape us, but we must understand that the events and the shaping can be not only in our ...

Every modern generation of Jews measures Israel through two lenses: Its strength, and its spirit. At times, these two move in perfect alignment. At other times, they strain against one another—each demanding attention, each requiring care. Today, we are living in such a moment, a moment of change and challenge.

There is no question that Israel’s strategic position has changed. Over the past decades—and especially in the wake of recent conflicts—Israel has demonstrated capabilities th...

I often see, around the middle of May, an argument of sorts unfolding. It surrounds the celebration of Mother’s Day, and the appropriateness of the designation of a day exclusively to celebrate and appreciate everything about our mothers and our relationships with them from our first days throughout our lifetimes.

One side of this discussion is that a special day can make these most special people in our lives feel appreciated and seen in a way most of us don’t always prioritize througho...

Many of my close family members, and many of my cousins live in Israel, including my brother, my aunt and uncle, cousins who I grew up with, their kids and grandkids. An even greater proportion of my wife’s family live there as well. We are blessed when we have opportunities to share family simchas with them, to see them when they are on this side of the world, and to visit with them when we are in Israel. And I have many, many friends who I likewise grew up with, worked with, or got to kno...

When Thomas Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence with the help of Franklin and Adams, he used an interesting turn of phrase. “We hold these truths to be self-evident…” he wrote, when describing the natural state of equality the framers believed underpinned the act of revolution that led to the Declaration and independence from the hegemonic British monarchy.

Having laid out the rationale for independence, Jefferson reminded future generations that the status quo they were u...

It is particularly apt just before Passover to consider that every generation of Jews asks the same question.

Is this moment different? Is it an echo? Or is it something completely unknown?

History teaches something more important than the answer itself: the question must always be asked.

Because the Jewish people have learned—often painfully—that threats rarely arrive all at once. They emerge slowly. They grow quietly. They spread socially before they become politically or physically ...