Recent sexual controversies and upheavals While sexual attitudes are inclined to change from generation to generation, controversies relating to sexual behavior are ageless and even occupy a prominent role in the biblical narrative. Perhaps as an octogenarian there is a generational gap...
The ongoing kulturkampf with the ultra-Orthodox The Chief Rabbinate, backed by its ultra-Orthodox political factions, has imposed additional extreme and even bizarre rulings that impact on the nation. In previous generations we were blessed with chief rabbis who were worldly, spiritual giants who...
Passover: We have reason to rejoice Tonight, most Israelis, secular as well as observant, will celebrate Passover, the festival of freedom in which we recount our life of slavery and exodus from Egypt and how we became a nation. The Haggadah that we read at the Passover Seder also...
On religious extremism It is ironic that with Jewish observance and spiritual values at unprecedentedly high levels in Israeli society, the established religious leadership has sunk to its lowest nadir. There are many wise, creative and worldly Israeli rabbis but in most...
Haredim – an impending Kulturkampf As Rosh Hashanah approaches, one senses an impending explosion between Israeli mainstream society and the ultra-Orthodox. For years, tensions have steadily grown as influential haredi rabbis strived to prevent their followers from integrating into...
The scandal-ridden chief rabbinate must be restructured The scandalous depths to which the haredi extremists who have abused their rabbinical authority are sinking seem limitless. It is high time for Jews in Israel and the Diaspora to publicly vent their rage and insist that their shenanigans must cease....
Passover, our festival of freedom and miracles On the first night of Passover, the festive meal is preceded by the Seder, which chronicles our emergence from bondage into a nation and recounts the miracles associated with the Exodus from Egypt. The central theme of the ancient Haggadah resonates...
Israeli Chief Rabbinate seeks to emulate role of the Vatican The tensions created by the ultra-Orthodox Chief Rabbinate within Israeli society have extended to the Diaspora and are now undermining relations with the Jewish state. Ironically, this is taking place at a time when many Israelis are returning to...
Chief Rabbis besmirch Christian Embassy It is regrettable that on Yom Kippur eve, our chief rabbis have again uttered offensive remarks, this time besmirching one of Israel’s most dedicated allies and ardent supporters. Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi David Lau and his Sephardi counterpart, Rabbi...
Disband the disgraceful state-endorsed rabbinical leadership I rubbed my eyes in disbelief when I read that Sephardi Chief Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef has extended the ban on television and computers by decreeing that anyone using the “abomination” of smartphones be prohibited from leading prayers. Like most...
