Inherit the Land
Thursday, November 12, 2015
WalkingTorah - Parashat Toldot (Genesis 25:19-28:9)
Friday, November 6, 2015
WalkingTorah - Parashat Chayei Sarah (Genesis 23:1-25:18)
Some things in life are certainly worth fighting for. Whether it is fighting to preserve eternal values, or fighting on behalf of justice for the downtrodden, or fighting for the freedom of those being persecuted, there are many worthy causes which demand our commitment. But let us be very careful when choosing what to fight over, and what to let be. May we be blessed with the wisdom and foresight to be able to take a step back from a situation and say, “I may be in the right here, but the price I’ll pay for winning is just not worth it.”
Rabbi Aryeh A. Leifert is originally from Teaneck, New Jersey. He served as an Assistant Rabbi and Judaics Studies principal in San Antonio, Texas from 2006-2009. In 2009, he moved to Israel with his family, where he works as a licensed tour guide for individuals, couples, families of all ages, groups, schools, and religious institutions. He also offers Virtual Tours of Israel through the internet. He may be reached via his website, WalkingIsrael.com.
Friday, October 23, 2015
WalkingTorah - Parashat Lech Lecha
- The world said that human sacrifice, and particularly child sacrifice, was demanded by the gods. Abraham said that such an act was an abomination before God.
- The world said that strangers (that is, non-members of a family or tribe) need not be cared for, and may in some cases be actively persecuted. The Torah demands over thirty times that we take care of, protect, and even love the stranger.
- The world said that if a person murders another, he may either claim sanctuary in the local temple, or pay a fine, to be determined by the social status of his victim. The Torah specifies that if a murderer claims sanctuary, he should be dragged away from the altar itself and punished. And there is no distinction between different victims’ social statuses. All lives are equal in the eyes of God.
Rabbi Aryeh A. Leifert is originally from Teaneck, New Jersey. He served as an Assistant Rabbi and Judaics Studies principal in San Antonio, Texas from 2006-2009. In 2009, he moved to Israel with his family, where he works as a licensed tour guide for individuals, couples, families of all ages, groups, schools, and religious institutions. He also offers Virtual Tours of Israel through the internet. He may be reached via his website, WalkingIsrael.com.
Monday, October 19, 2015
Pro-Israel videos from Prager University
- Dennis Prager - The Middle East problem
- Anne Bayefsky - Is the UN fair to Israel?
- Alan Dershowitz - Israel's legal founding
- Alan Dershowitz - Are Israeli settlements the barrier to peace?
- Alan Dershowitz - BDS: The attempt to strangle Israel
- George Gilder - Do you pass the Israel Test?
- Raymond Ibrahim - Radical Islam: The most dangerous ideology
- Kenneth Meshoe - Is Israel an apartheid state?
- Haroon Ullah - Why do people become religious extremists?
Friday, October 16, 2015
WalkingTorah - Parashat No'ach
Rabbi Aryeh A. Leifert (WalkingIsrael.com)
Thursday, August 20, 2015
Differences between Left & Right positions
In May 2015, radio talk show host Dennis Prager began a series of articles on the differences between left-wing positions and right-wing positions on various macro issues. Of course, macro issues will necessarily influence one's views on micro issues. I think that this series will help both sides better understand why they believe what they believe, and help them better explain their positions to the other side. Keep checking back here for the latest articles. Enjoy!
1) May 26, 2015 - To defend a position, you must understand both sides
2) June 2, 2015 - Battling society vs. battling yourself
3) June 9, 2015 - "Does it do good?" vs. "Does it feel good?"
4) June 16, 2015 - The Left rejects painful truths
5) July 7, 2015 - It's all about big government
6) July 28, 2015 - The Left's contempt for America
7) August 18, 2015 - How do you know what's right and wrong?
Tuesday, July 21, 2015
Responses to the Iran nuclear deal, across the political spectrum
So many commentators have added their voices to the discussion about the recent Iran nuclear deal. Here is a list of some of the best opinion and news pieces, from across the political spectrum. Please send me more that you think should be added. (List follows alphabetical order.)
* Ben Sasson-Gordis, Avishay (Huffington Post, July 21, 2015) - Why the Iran deal is Israel's best alternative
* Beinart, Peter; Frum, David; Goldberg, Jeffrey (The Atlantic, July 17, 2015) - Is there a viable alternative to the Iran deal?
* Friedman, Thomas L. (New York Times, July 14, 2015) - Obama makes his case on Iran nuclear deal
* Goldberg, Jeffrey (The Atlantic, July 14, 2015) - The single most important question to ask about the Iran deal
* Goldberg, Jeffrey (The Atlantic, July 16, 2015) - Israeli Opposition Leader: Iran Deal Will Bring Chaos to the Middle East
* Krauthammer, Charles (Washington Post, July 2, 2015) - The worst agreement in US diplomatic history
* Krauthammer, Charles (Washington Post, July 15, 2015) - Worse than we could have imagined
* Kurtzer, Yehuda (eJewishPhilanthropy, July 21, 2015) - On Jewish leadership in a time of crisis
* Milbank, Dana (Washington Post, July 15, 2015) - Obama's news conference was a case for American weakness
Monday, February 25, 2013
Some soul-searching needed in Islam
Thursday, November 4, 2010
Did sexism defeat Fiorinna and Whitman?
Friday, October 22, 2010
So much for freedom of speech at NPR
Imagine if Mr. Williams had said the same thing about Jews or Christians. Would he have been fired? Of course not; far from being offended, people would think he was delusional. When was the last time Jews murdered others in the name of Judaism, or Christians in the name of Christianity? Stumped? You're not alone. For Muslims, however, one need only go back a few weeks (no matter when you are reading this). Is this tragic? Certainly. Is it true, though? To deny this is to deny the earth is round. But NPR is much more concerned with being politically correct (read denying reality) than with transmitting truth. As I have said to many friends, the issue is not whether or not Muslim terrorists are misrepresenting their faith; that is for Islamic scholars to decide. It is an undeniable fact, however, that for the majority of Muslim terrorists, they think that they are faithfully performing their god's will. Are they all idiots, or is there something else going on here?
So Juan Williams says what is on millions of Americans' minds. Are millions of Americans anti-Muslim bigots? (To the media elite, that is a rhetorical question; it is a given.) Or, in fact, are they just not oblivious to the events unfolding before their eyes, and do they just want to protect their families?
Are the majority of Muslims terrorists? The notion is absurd. But even according to the most conservative estimates, 10% of the Muslim world supports violent jihad to impose shariah. Friends, that's 130 million people. That's nearly one-third the population of the United States, and more than four times the population of Canada. The majority of Muslims are not Arabs. But the majority of Arabs are Muslims. Why is this obvious truth any less legitimate than pointing out that the majority of terrorists are Muslims?
Considering there have been exactly zero protests by American Muslims against religious violence committed in the name of their faith, cut us all some slack if we are a bit more suspicious of someone dressed in Muslim garb than we would be of a Hasid from Brooklyn, an Evangelical from San Antonio, or a nun from Seattle.