JONATHAN LIEBERMAN

Recently, my son spent three weeks on an intensive residential course in Australia – long days outdoors, very little sleep, and a great deal of mud. The organizers made sure he had kosher food.

Where do you begin to explain Shabbat from scratch? I found myself going back to the beginning. Literally. The first Shabbat in the Torah is found in the opening chapter of human existence.

Many praised Boy George, the flamboyant icon of the 1980s, for standing up for what he believed in despite knowing he would face criticism. Others mocked him.

Iris Haim, the mother of Yotam Haim, who was tragically shot by IDF troops after escaping from captivity in Gaza, inspires with the riveting upcoming film ’ Looking for Yotam’

A healthy society should possess a moral fragrance. Its values should be detectable not only in its speeches and symbols, but in its streets, offices, schools, hospitals, and homes. 

In Keinon’s reading, Gaza’s devastation was not an unforeseen consequence. It was a price Sinwar was prepared to pay in the hope of igniting a regional war that would ultimately destroy Israel.

A kosher meal in a hospital should be boring, a footnote, one line on a dietary form swallowed up in the vast machinery of clinical care. Instead, it has become a test of nerve.

Sitting there, watching Avigayil, one could not escape the thought: What would she give for one more ordinary moment? One more conversation. One more cup of coffee. But time is not guaranteed.

The existence of the Samaritans reminds us that possessing a text is not enough. The greater wonder is the survival of a people and a living tradition.

The world is not beautiful at the moment. But the 'beautiful game' still has the capacity to gather people, distract people, delight people, and occasionally inspire people.