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God created the Earth, the sun, moon, and stars, planets, and all living creatures, including Man. He breathed the breath of life into the first Man, and took the first Woman from his rib. He spoke directly to the first Man and Woman; there was no veil yet, no wall between them. He spoke directly to the children of the first Man and Woman, and then to Noah, and then to Avraham. Yet the more mankind rejected Him, the harder it became to hear His voice. God found ways to speak

Please note: this is a direct continuation of Reconstituting a Torah Nation in the Land of Israel (Part III). If you have not yet read Part I and II, please click here for Part I or click here for Part II. The Dati Leumi Challenge The Dati Leumi population, as mentioned in my previous article, developed its own emergency response. They decided they will attempt to work within the secular state, using it as a vehicle towards the redemption. The problem, in my opinion, is that

Please note: this is a direct continuation of Reconstituting a Torah Nation in the Land of Israel (Part II). If you have not yet read Part I, please click here for Part I. Emergency Response: Haredim vs Dati Leumi In 1948, the State of Israel was founded by a secular elite whose mission it was to redefine Am Yisrael into a nation like any other nation, bereft of a unique relationship with HaKadosh Baruch Hu. Both the Haredim and the Dati Leumi did not believe in this vision,

Please note: this is a direct continuation of Reconstituting a Torah Nation in the Land of Israel (Part I). The Establishment Right If things had been left up to the Jewish taskmasters, we would have been slaves forever, G-D forbid. We would have had well meaning Jews fighting to improve our slavery conditions, but slaves we would have remained if Moshe did not come and do Hashem’s bidding. What we don’t realize is that slaves we would have been, and slaves we are now. Virtua

Right-Wing Politics in the State of Israel Israeli society is becoming more right wing, more religious – that’s the hot topic lately. Everyone talks about how the population is becoming more traditional in its politics, in its religious observance, and in its social norms – Baruch Hashem! It is true that the election in 2022 yielded the most right-wing, religious government the modern State of Israel has ever known. The individuals voted in, such as Itamar Ben Gvir and Betzal

In “ Of Man and Earth ,” we learned that Adam’s first role upon his creation was to work and guard the Garden of Eden: The Lord God took the man, and He placed him in the Garden of Eden to work it [לעבדה] and to guard it [לשמרה]. Beresheet 2:15 God told Adam not to eat from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. In turn, Adam told Hava not only to abstain from eating from the tree, but also not to touch the tree, lest she die. We learn this by observing Hava’s response to t

During the Corona lockdowns in 2020, I found myself, like many others, dabbling in a small garden. It was nothing much - just a few pots and some seeds on the small patio outside of my apartment. The street just past the bushes surrounding our corner apartment smelled like exhaust and looked like any other ugly, gray suburban street in a middle-class neighborhood: small restaurants and stores in an old strip mall, a gas station across the street, and covert drug deals and dru

For You tested us, Oh God; You refined us as though refining silver. Tehillim/Psalms 66:10 For the past several years, I’ve observed that the most difficult struggle in life is the one we talk least about. We all speak readily to one another about our surface-level challenges – finances, family, health – and yet, the greatest battles are not external. The greatest battles are within. There is the battle of truly conquering oneself. The battle of refinement. The struggle throu