Twenty-one-year-old Zvika Greengold had just been accepted into the prestigious Company Commanders course and given two weeks’ leave. He was home on his Kibbutz Lohamei HaGeta’ot near … more

It was finally the day. After over a year of training, I was finally about to get my bars and join the family of IDF officers. My parents had flown in from the US for the occasion, along with my … more

Rabbi Binny Freedman speaks with students at the Salanter Akiba Riverdale High School on Monday, discussing gap-year programs at Yeshivat Orayta in Jerusalem where he is rosh yeshiva. Rabbi … more

Compromise is a challenging word, ranging from the noble to the naïve. How does one know when compromise is called for, and when it is actually a tragic mistake?  In the military, … more

One of the most challenging experiences I had in the Israeli army had nothing to do with combat or being in the field; it transpired during a moment of relative calm, when things were looking pretty … more

There is war, and then there is madness. In war, one has to fight, but when madness sets in, sometimes one has to run. Such was the question on a dark October afternoon in 1973, when the quiet … more

When Steve Jobs was 17 he saw a quote: “If you live each day as though it were your last, some day you will most certainly be right.” Delivering a now famous commencement address at … more

Eternity. What does it mean? Does anything really last forever? Many years ago, in the pre-dawn darkness on an empty Jerusalem road, I discovered just how fleeting life can be. After a very late … more

Binny Freedman served in Lebanon in the early 1980s. I remember that ride, passing Agam Karun (Karun reservoir) and then the road below the Beaufort fortress, imagining what that would have been … more

This column was published on Oct. 21, 2015. These past weeks Israel seems to be in the grip of a wave of terror: stabbings, shootings, firebombs, and riots, leaving us wondering whether there is … more