Connected to the Center
This week’s haftorah, the second of the special haftorot for the three weeks, is Yirmiyahu’s first prophecy of rebuke. The axis upon which this rebuke turns is that God has showered the Jewish people with His love and blessings and instead of loyalty and love the Jewish people betrayed God for foreign deities. One example […]
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Our War Is About Justice
With all of the talk these days invoking social justice, we have seen an ever increasing attack on Zionism. Although terms like occupation and settlements are used, make no mistake about it, these attacks are aimed at all of the Jewish people. After all, Zionism is the most successful social justice movement. The Jewish people […]
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Leadership: Jerusalem Style
When Moshe asks God to appoint his sucessor he describes the ideal Jewish leader: “Let the Lord, the God of spirits of all flesh, appoint a man over the congregation, who will go forth before them and come before them, who will lead them out and bring them in.” Rashi interprets the phrase “go forth […]
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Only Our Return Can Bring Peace, One Step At A Time
With all of the discussion surrounding the extension of Israeli sovereignty to Judea and Samaria as well as the storm such a move would make, there are many false assumptions that have been made by even well meaning people. The main thrust of most of these “peace” initiatives is the need to reach some sort […]
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The Eternal Hope Of Jerusalem
The Parah Adumah is the classic “chok” or mitzvah that is not comprehendible to even the wisest humans. It is a rule-breaking ritual that contains internal contradictions. Yet, despite our inability to fully grasp the mechanism of the ritual, we are still enjoined to study the details of Parah Adumah and uncover relevant life lessons […]
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Korach: The Opposite of Yerushalayim
Korach’s rebellion was a complex affair. While other negative episodes in the desert focused on a single complaint (lack of food, lack of water etc.) Korach and his group make several distinct claims. First, Korach seems to challenge the leadership on Moshe and Aharon on the basis that “the entire congregation are all holy, and […]
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Seeing the Good of Jerusalem
All of life is a mixture of good, bad and the neutral. Before the sin of Adam and Chavah eating from the Tree of Knowledge, they were able to walk through the garden and see the underlying divinity and positivity of every aspect of the this world. After all, God himself upon finishing creation declared […]
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Discrimination Against Jews In The Heart Of Jerusalem
One of the biggest challenges in restoring former Jewish neighborhoods in Jerusalem that we have in Ateret Cohanim is the fact that the “Palestinian” Authority and other Muslim leaders have issued a Fatwa or religious decree against selling property to Jews. Think about it. In most of the world, it is forbidden to discriminate against […]
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Fearing and Seeing God
At the end of this weeks’s parsha we read about the uniqueness of Moshe Rabbeinu’s prophecy: “With him I speak mouth to mouth; in a vision and not in riddles, and he beholds the image of the Lord.” All other prophets had their visions through an unclear lens, while Moshe saw through a clear glass. […]
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The Attack On Yehuda Glick And The Need For Eastern Jerusalem Development
The attack on former MK Yehuda Glick when he paid a “shiva call” to the family of Iyad al-Halak, an autistic Arab man who was wrongfully killed by police officers shows the deep need for further integration of Eastern Jerusalem neighborhoods. The mourning tent is situated in the Arab neighborhood of Wadi Joz and saw […]
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