It started out as just another inspection. It was Friday afternoon, and after a week of intense maneuvers with little sleep, followed by the weekly servicing of our tanks all night long. We were … more

It was a glorious Shabbat morning, but truth be told, if I had been left to my own devices, I might have slept all day. But there at the edge of my bed was Benji with his older sister Abigail, … more

Again this year, there is evidence of a polarization in Israeli society. Jewish men purporting to represent what Judaism is meant to be, describing themselves as “religious” or … more

How could anyone have thought this fellow was suited to be a gunner? His name was Shachar, which means the dawn, and the joke was that with him around it was always dawn, because he blotted out the … more

One of the conclusions of an IDF review of the Tzuk Eitan (Defensive Shield) war fought in Gaza in the summer of 2014 was that it was a bad idea to have encouraged soldiers to write letters to their … more

I remember one of the guys I was in yeshiva with, trying to convince me not to sign up for Officer’s course. I would be forced to spend an additional year and a half in the army, without … more

That we should love the stranger, the ger, is the fourth mitzvah in Maimonides’ Hilchot Deot (laws of ethical relationships). And as one is not meant to remind a person that he or she is a … more

I recently heard a wonderful story by a flight attendant who, after being throttled by one too many rude comments, was starting to think she needed to change careers. Then a passenger had a heart … more

Few things in this world are as beautiful as the night sky in the desert. Most people do not get to see this beauty, far away from the bright lights and cacophony of sounds in the city, the black … more

Yom Yerushalayim, which commemorates the reunification of Jerusalem following the Six-Day War in June 1967, 49 years ago, is observed on 28 Iyar (this year, June 5). Jewish Star columnist Rabbi Binny … more