T he words na’aseh v’nishmah (we will do, and we will hear) are two of the most celebrated words that appear in our parasha, Mishpatim. When the Jewish people uttered this phrase during … more

Early in my postgraduate training, I became familiar with the important role that empathy plays in successful psychotherapy. As the eminent psychotherapist Carl Rogers wrote, “Empathy is the … more

Throughout history, heads of state have served as the personification of their people and their civilizations. For some, their legacy was to be one of cruelty, for others of plunder and ruin. … more

Let’s begin with the old saying that reminds us: “It’s the Ten Commandments, not the Ten Suggestions.” This is more than a joke; it is the foundation of our moral behavior. … more

First in Yitro there were the Aseret Hadibrot, the “Ten Utterances,” the Ten Commandments, expressed as general principles. Now in Mishpatim come the details. Here is how they begin: … more

Let’s not get caught up in the details of the controversy that made headlines about the fact that 12 employees of UNRWA — the UN refugee agency dedicated to assisting the Palestinians … more

Israelis last week celebrated that the pogromniks only broke the windows, but did not kill anyone. In the twisted world where the International Court of Justice is putting … more

It is often believed that antisemitism is essentially an elite phenomenon. Unscrupulous leaders, it is held, exploit hatred of the Jews to further their malicious designs, whipping up popular … more

Should governments and public institutions take punitive measures against groups or individuals who promote antisemitism through such measures as cutting funding, criminalizing aspects of their … more

With each passing week since the Oct. 7 Hamas pogroms in Israeli communities in southern Israel, the magnitude of the sea change in attitudes towards antisemitism becomes more and more apparent. But … more