Day: November 20, 2025

Cultural camouflage By: Rabbi Dr David Fox Her name was unusual, not easily identified as to ethnicity or nationality. The first name she left on my voicemail was one of those new-age generic ones that anyone might give to their child or anyone might select for themselves. I will alter the names here but will give a sense of why they confused me. I will refer to her as Whisper Pleba. She wanted an appointment. Ms Pleba told me she was an aspiring actress. She had moved to Hollywood several…

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To vanquish our hidden enemies By: Rabbi Dovid Samuels The Jewish calendar is structured like the human body, with each festival corresponding to a vital organ or limb. The three Biblical festivals – Pesach, Shavuos, and Sukkos – correspond to the three patriarchs: Pesach to Avraham, Shavuos to Yitzchak, and Sukkos to Yaakov. These festivals form the torso of our spiritual body, representing the eternal covenant – the body and the heart of the Jewish people. But Purim and Chanukah are different. They are not Biblical festivals. Instead, they were…

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A Formula for Letting G-d In By: Paula Levin My feature in the Rosh Hashanah edition, called the Real Alchemists, was my first introduction to AA’s 12 Step programme and to addicts in recovery. It struck me that these were some of the most G-d-conscious humans I’ve ever met! Their lives, once unmanageable, chaotic, and destructive, were now sacred and productive; their days filled with meditation, prayer, humility and honest self-assessment. Each one attributed this way of being to the 12 Steps – and so I had to find out…

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The First Prayers By: Lauren Adilev For the last two years, every Shabbat at my local shul in Kiryat Arba before the Torah was returned to the ark, a man would recite a prayer for the return of the hostages, calling out one name in particular: Eitan Mor, the son of Tzvika and Efrat Mor. This family has resided in Kiryat Arba for many years. Eitan went to the Nova Festival to work as a security guard. Another local man, Elyakim Libman, went with him. For months, his family held…

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Extraordinary women rising from the ashes of 7 October By: Wendy Kahn In the shadow of the unimaginable horror that unfolded on 7 October 2023, we have witnessed the emergence of so many extraordinary heroes. Among them stands our own homegrown Captain Daniel Perez, the remarkable soldier who led his platoon so courageously against the onslaught of Hamas terrorists, safeguarding countless lives in the area of Kibbutz Nahal Oz. “Each visit unveils fresh tales of heroism that inspire and amaze me.” Last month, in September, I was part of a…

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