The Torah has many poetic passages that engage our minds and cause our hearts to soar. Paradoxically, a number of these sections were uttered by none other than Bilam, the evil prophet from the … more

Frustration. Disillusionment. But also insight and a lifelong intellectual perspective. That is how I would describe the experience I am about to share with you. It started with Fyodor … more

Many questions have rightly been asked about the story of Balak and Bilam and the would-be curses that turned into blessings. Was Bilam a true man of G-d, or was he a fraud, a magician, a … more

Next week we commemorate the breaching of the Old City walls of Jerusalem by the Roman Tenth Legion on the 17th day of Tammuz in 70 CE, heralding the beginning of the end of the Jewish Second … more

Korach was swallowed up by the ground, but his spirit is still alive and well, and in the unlikeliest of places — British and American universities. Korach was the embodiment of what the … more

In Israel, even a bus ride can become an existential experience. On a long, crowded bus ride from Haifa to Jerusalem, a fellow in a long black coat and black hat was sitting towards the rear of … more

Conflict resolution is one of the most important tasks in human relations. Open up any newspaper and you will read of schoolchildren bullying each other, of married couples who are in bitter … more

Parasha Korach begins with the 16th chapter of Sefer Bamidbar that tells the story of Korach, his wayward Levitical followers, and their rebellion against Hashem and His Torah, Moshe and … more

In March, while launching a new book, “Morality: Restoring the Common Good in Divided Times,” I took part in a BBC radio program along with Mervyn King, who had been governor of the … more

One of the guys I was in yeshiva with tried 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 any spiritual … more