How do you teach “History”? Israeli Ministry of Education apparently solved this puzzle. The solution: It’s not the contents, but rather the title, that matters. I’ve been volunteering for several months, helping small children in the age of 10 years or so with their homework from school. Many of them attend what is known as […]

Today is the Jewish “Yom Kippur”. It’s a day full of contradictions, some of which are rather odd. According to the Jewish “Halacha” (religious laws and tradition), it used to be a happy day, in which men chose women for the purpose of establishing a family. According to the same “Halacha” it is now a […]

Are most people religious or secular? In most Western countries with Christian orientation, the question itself is pretty obvious. ‘Belief in God’ for a typical American would usually be accompanied by some common Christian behaviors, and since many of these are optional, it could be translated into simple everyday habits. Nothing special that can be […]

It really pisses me off when I’m being blamed for ‘hatred’. Try to criticize religion, especially the Middle-Eastern ones. Soon you’ll find yourself as the target of various accusations, which may start with ‘hatred’ and end with ‘Anti-Semitism’ and ‘Islamofobia’. Religions are not very tolerant of criticism, and that is an understatement. The issue has […]

There is a funny thing about writing fiction and legends. Things that are unimaginable in real life, become quite normal in fairy tales (the fairies themselves, to name one – no sexual meaning is intended here). Perhaps the most striking attribute of a legend is to assign human-like behaviors to other “things”. These can be […]

The Talmud says ‘Kol Be-Isha Erva’. The direct literal translation of our sages in this case reads ‘A woman’s voice is her genitals’. Luckily, the meaning is not the direct translation, but it’s almost. The meaning is ‘a woman’s singing voice induces desire, and therefore is not allowed to be heard by men’. The origins […]

I often stumble upon the famous argument “Who is a Jew?” (or, rather, “What is a Jew?”). Unlike other related terms, Jewishness is used to express several very different things. In many countries of the world, there is some order in things. Let’s take Belgium for instance: You can be a Belgian citizen, while from […]

The argument can go both ways, and indeed it does, very often. What’s more, there is lots of criticism heard from religious people, of things associated with secularity. Have you heard that schools of the secular sector introduce more violence? Do you know that secular people as a whole are blamed for maintaining weaker relationships […]

“Us, and them. And after all we’re only ordinary men.” – ‘Us and Them’, Pink Floyd, Roger Waters Using passive voice is a great thing, a must for skillful politicians and salesmen. “Promised Land” and “Chosen People” are both amazing expressions without needing to explain who promised and who chose. So, who are God’s chosen […]

(iii) The sages knew it all – surprising ancient knowledge is yet another ruse in the game. If our ancestors knew so much without modern scientific tools, then it must be God himself who took care to grant them this knowledge. This method is most popular among Jewish players of the game, some of whom […]