Many religious leaders don’t want their flock to study science. The excuses may vary. Some say they want the people to concentrate on studying [what they claim is the] “important things”. Others don’t want them to, say, have males and females in the same class. No matter what the “official” reason is, it always boils […]

This week the Jewish people, specifically the religious ones, mark the date of “the ninth of Av” – when according to Jewish tradition the second temple (and presumably also the first one) was destroyed, and many were killed. There are many similarities between the disasters of “the ninth of Av”, about 2,000 years ago, and […]

Proportions are nice. Putting things in proportions is an important thing. Often it makes us feel a bit humble, causes us to think a little about the world around us. Thinking, you know, may promote unwanted actions :) Consider for example the rocks and stones in Jerusalem. The Western Wall – one of the most […]

“Woman is the nigger of the world”— John Lennon There’s a lot going on in currently the land of milk and honey. Much of it has to do with the special attitude of religion towards women. Women are allowed to sing… as long as men don’t hear them. That is the up-to-date twist of the […]

Can you “formally” determine one’s religion and beliefs? You can certainly establish some criteria; perhaps even phrase a nice questionnaire. In modern times, you can also carefully monitor brain activity. Still, you can never really tell what’s on a person’s mind. Furthermore, people have a nasty tendency to change their minds. Many times concerning small […]

Thursday, October 27, 2016 — The chairman of the Knesset’s financial committee, Mr. Moshe Gafni, rejected the request of a local Christian organization for certain tax benefits. Its members were said to be observed performing “missionary” activities. Rightfully so. You can easily guess I have nothing to do with hallucinatory Christian groups, but look what […]

“Blessed be he who has not made me a woman… Blessed be he who has not made me a gentile…” – This is part of the Morning Prayer, spoken regularly by religious Jewish men. Doesn’t sound good, right? There are tons of explanations and excuses for this “enlightened” text. Some say it’s actually meant to […]

September 1st is the real “New Year” holiday of Israel. It’s the date school starts, following a long summer vacation. Every child and parent knows this day. It’s a true celebration. Alas, it’s not the “school system” that starts on September 1st… It’s several different systems, some even start at different dates. Some children study […]

Israelis were shocked to hear that the new candidate for the “IDF Rabbi” position referred to homosexuals as “perverts”, but they were soon calmed by the explanation that this was only an academic biblical discussion. What’s this nonsense – ‘only an academic discussion’ – or in its Jewish flavor – ‘only a halachic commentary’? As […]

What business do politicians have with religious verdicts? Since when do parliament members determine the exact hour of the ‘Sabbath’, or whether the original circumcision process of a new immigrant to Israel was religiously correct? Alas, in Israel 2016 – religion (Orthodox Jewish, of course) has invaded most of our disciplines. The chair-thirsty politicians have […]