Many years ago at a parlor meeting of the coalition for the Israeli soldiers missing in action, someone spoke about a close friend with whom he had both studied and gone to war: Yehuda Katz. Along … more

It is hard to describe what it takes to be a combat infantry soldier in the Israeli army, but those who succeed in the elite Golani brigade are few and far between. To be chosen from amongst them to … more

There is a little known test that officer cadets undergo in one form or another during Infantry Officer’s training that they almost always fail, which is precisely the point. It takes many … more

The details of this story have been changed to protect the identity of the commander involved. J enin during the first intifada was a nasty place, especially for a month of reserve duty, but we … more

It was known as shavua Tirgolot, the week of training drills. It sounded pretty innocuous, but as it turned out, it was a week of hell. The IDF prides itself on being prepared for any eventuality, … more

I had an aunt who was a kindergarten teacher for many years. She once told me about a child who would bite other children. No amount of persuasion seemed to work. Then one day, when he was caught … more

One of the saddest stories I ever heard was from a holocaust survivor who would say Kaddish on the tenth of Tevet every year, in the shul I grew up in as a boy. He was given the privilege of leading … more

In 1925, the American Astronomer Edwin Hubble demonstrated (as an extension of Vesto Slipher’s discovery in 1918) that the universe was not static, it was expanding: every galaxy in the … more

I recall an incredible series of coincidences that to me were nothing short of miraculous. A student had been desperate to speak with me, and we finally managed to connect in New York the day … more

It seems almost trivial, but one of the difficulties of my time in Lebanon was the lack of space, a sense of being on top of one another.  During a scramble to get into the bunker when the … more