One of the most interesting holidays in the Jewish calendar is ‘Sukkot’, when religious Jewish people (as well as many secular kids) spend time in small wooden huts near their homes. This is also known as the “Collection Festival”, following the old Biblical command: “Also in the fifteenth day of the seventh month, when ye […]

A soldier in the IDF has been put into a month of detention, because… a package of hamburger was found in his private fridge, in his room. Now, let me make this clear: This was not an issue of health. It was not some commercial thing. No money was involved in the reason for this […]

The big parties in the Israeli parliament (the “Knesset”) quarrel over the image of the future government. One of the main issues? Things associated with a bit more separation of church and state. In particular: Public transportation in the weekends, the right of every couple to get married regardless of religious constraints, compulsory basic education […]

The story of the young Israelis in Cyprus previously-accused of raping a British woman — demonstrates an important issue of religions. Watching the story evolving on TV, one could not escape the religious aspects popping up here and there. Many of the boys were suddenly shown with a “Kippah” (a Jewish traditional head cover) on […]

One of my “hobbies”, sort of speak, is to find funny contradictions or conclusions from the Scriptures. Some of them are quite obvious to find, such as the in the differences between the first two chapters of Genesis. Others are hidden somewhere and require comparing some pieces of text that are not necessarily adjacent. Rest […]

So we’ve just finished celebrating the holiday of Passover – “Pesach” in Hebrew. Without getting into the real origins of the holiday, which are mainly agricultural, let’s observe its relatively new flavor: “The Holiday of Freedom” – named after the story of the ancient Hebrews escaping slavery in ancient Egypt. I’m skipping the scientific research […]

Stories change over time. This known to everyone who’s had the opportunity to join a “telephone” game (sometimes known as ‘Chinese whispers’). You can more read about it here. One of the strangest things that seem to have change is our… God. Well, not directly him (or her), but rather their name, and – actually […]

It’s election time again in Israel. Something that happens frequently. Some Jewish religious political parties have found this time appropriate for attracting voters by promoting a hate campaign against homosexuals and lesbians. The current slogans involve using the terms “natural” and sometimes also “majority”. Supposedly it’s not “natural” for a couple of the same gender […]

The following partially-translated article appeared in one of Israeli ultra-Orthodox Jewish religious newspapers, “Yated Ne’eman” (name roughly translated into “Faithful Tent-Peg”) on May 2000. It was written by Rabbi Chaim Shaul Karelitz, one of the most prominent leaders of the Jewish ultra-Orthodoxy at the time, and largely reflected the Jewish ultra-Orthodox attitude towards the state […]

Israel won the 2018 Eurovision song contest. Great! This means that next year (2019) – the contest is due to take place in the Holy Land. It’s a big opportunity for income and public relations. For many it’s also a good opportunity to strengthen the status of Jerusalem, or at least its sectors that are […]