העורך Editor

Any serious look at the history of human beings over the millennia shows that the species began in poverty. It is not poverty, but prosperity, that needs explaining…

Thomas Sowell, from here.

To recap: whom did the Maccabees battle, first and foremost? Not the non-Jews, but Jewish renegades.

I meant to add: Yeshayahu Leibowitz said, regarding the schism of observant and non-observant Jews in Israel, that civil war, like “Pilegesh Begiv’ah” (Shoftim chapter 19) is not an unthinkable eventuality.

Here’s a riddle. The Rambam (Avoda Zara 2:9) writes:

מגדף שחזר בו בתוך כדי דיבור אינו כלום אלא כיון שגידף בעדים נסקל

What could he mean? What does the first half of the sentence have to do with the other half?

Explain all the words. Then read our answer here.

Here is a really interesting article by Rabbi Eliezer Melamed. I am not saying I always agree with his own analysis, but rather that the sources brought are central and deserve to be studied.

OK. But what’s the topic?

Hard to give just one answer: “Dina demalchusa dina“, the exceptions thereof, the possible reasons for this rule, how come Jewish wars don’t violate “Pikuach Nefesh”, living in and settling Israel, Lo Sechanem and Mesirah, destroying Jewish homes, God forbid, and more.

See it here.

I love the comments you make on current events, movements and conventional wisdom, especially the short and simple articles, like the recent one pointing out that sometimes there IS an objective truth (viewed as uncouth to postmodern sensibilities), brief reminders about forgotten or misunderstood mitzvas, and the quips and jokes that are both funny and drive points home (like the litvaks learning Gemara instead of karbanos, LOL). Some of the links are helpful too, like the recent one to the simple halacha site.

Your site provides for me with the closest thing I have found to a Torah bouncing board (could I say a taste of modern prophesy?) for the social and political and halachic chaos I feel we live in, and helps me make sense of it, based on impressively thorough research. The Editor articles are obviously extremely well thought out and refreshingly real and uninhibited, without sounding arrogant or dogmatic, which allows for trust and credibility in the author.

The longer ones like the links in Hebrew I am embarrassed to say often push my attention span or intellectual level beyond what I am willing to invest, but I am sure they appeal to readers who have more time or understanding at that level.