UNDERSTANDING JETHRO   There is a popular anecdote, often attributed to Rabbi Elijah Benamozegh of Livorno: One day, on his way to the synagogue, he was stopped by an atheist. “Rabbi,” the man said, “I’ve read the Bible, and I found it full of nonsense.” Benamozegh paused and replied: “Of course. The Bible contains everything: poetry for poets, philosophy for philosophers, theology for believers, history for historians… and for fools like you - only nonsense.” It’s one of my

Holocaust Memorial Day Tuesday will be Holocaust Memorial Day, and I am uneasy for a number of reasons. First, I do not like the word Holocaust. Second, I am uncomfortable with this framing of Jewish memory. Third, I am deeply sceptical. Let me explain. The choice of the word “Holocaust” over the Hebrew Shoah is not neutral. The Greek root of the term, holokauston, means a “burnt offering” — a sacrifice consumed on an altar. That religious undertone introduces a dangerous nar

"Why We Looked Away" I do not believe that the task of a Rabbi is to preserve the Torah. I do not think that our primary responsibility is to guard it or protect it from contamination. The Torah does not need to be saved from history, from politics, from moral conflict, or from the messiness of human life. If anything, the Torah exists precisely to be brought into that mess. There is the mitzvah of returning a lost object (Deut. 22:1). But this is not a commandment limited to

When Universalism Breaks: Norman Podhoretz, Jewish Peoplehood, and Life in Exile It has almost become a cliché. Many Jews have followed a similar path: an early attraction to left-wing politics and universalist ideals, followed, sometimes gradually, sometimes abruptly, by a painful awakening to antisemitism. It happened after the Six-Day War, when Jewish self-defence suddenly became morally suspect. It happened under Stalin, when the rhetoric of universal equality coexisted w

"IT DID NOT HAPPEN IN A VACUUM". INDEED I’m in shock, as I’m sure you all are. The horrific news from Sydney has left us devastated and anguished. A large crowd—Jews like me, like my family, like you—were attacked by two terrorists, a father and son. They opened fire on people celebrating Hanukkah at a popular beach gathering. The death toll has reached around fifteen, including children and elderly attendees, with many more injured. Among the victims identified were Matilda,