Do I need my mask for this? Having just moved from our apartment to a home, I’ve been confronted with a new dilemma. In a crowded apartment complex, there was never a question. I needed a mask every time I opened the front door. Now? Sometimes, I’m headed to the front yard to build furniture or clean. Sometimes, I’m simply taking out the trash. So…do I need my mask for this? The more I pondered the question, the more Jewish the question seemed. In essence, it represents a question of what we owe each other. Must one remain so vigilant that they are prepared for chance encounters, even if they had no intention of meeting someone? The Shulchan Aruch, a sixteenth century codex of Jewish law, stipulates that anyone trained to save a life must volunteer their services in a life-threatening situation. However, Jewish law does not demand that a physician [...]

One of the many dilemmas raised by the COVID pandemic consists of the conflict between individual liberties and public safety. Oddly, in Jewish tradition, this is no conflict, at all. Our tradition’s deference to public safety seems handily summarized by the principle of pikuach nefesh, the command to preserve the human nefesh, above nearly all else. According to halachah, in the wake of a life-threatening incident, any commandment, save those forbidding idolatry, blasphemy, illicit sexual relations, and murder, may, and should, be broken to save a fellow human nefesh. Of course, how one translates the ancient Judeo-Israelite concept of nefesh into the modern context means everything. Authors who decry the suspension of religious gatherings and other civil liberties often prefer to translate nefesh as the soul, suggesting that physical human life may be put in harm’s way in order to preserve activities that nourish the soul. Such a translation, however, seems to contradict the plain intent of the halachah, [...]

“Jewish terrorists have just blown up the King David Hotel!” – United Press International, London On July 22, 1946, the militant Zionist underground organization, Irgun, smuggled 350 pounds of explosives, hidden in milk cans, into the basement of the King David Hotel, home to the British headquarters in Palestine, before detonating a blast that leveled one half of the hotel’s southern wing, killing 91 and injuring 46. The attack, initially planned with the consent of the Palmach and the Hagannah, aroused sufficient controversy that the two groups distanced themselves from Irgun, who publicly accepted responsibility for the bombing. David Ben Gurion went as far as to label Irgun, “the enemy of the Jewish people.” From one perspective, the attack could be called a success. The indiscriminate nature of the bombing, as well as the casualties suffered, intensified domestic criticism of the Mandate in Britain. However, the ambivalence or outright disapproval [...]

Beginning on Rosh Hodesh Av, which we observe today, many Jews commence rituals of mourning leading up to Tisha B’Av (the ninth of Av). By refraining from wine, meat, and haircuts, Jews lament the destruction of Jerusalem, first by the Babylonians in 586 BCE and again by the Romans in 70 C.E. Regarding the second destruction of Jerusalem, the Talmud suggests that Jerusalem was destroyed on account of Kamtza and Bar Kamtza, two feuding aristocrats whose enmity drew Rome into Judea. Though clearly fictitious, the tale underscores the very real dangers posed to Judea by its contentious political and religious sectarianism, which left the Jews in no position to either forge a better relationship with Rome or to mount any meaningful resistance to the Roman invasion that destroyed Jerusalem. As we count down the days toward Tisha B’Av, the story of Kamtza and Bar Kamtza seems increasingly poignant, as our [...]

In the Army, they called it “a case of the Mondays.” Some soldiers would always struggle on the first day back from the weekend until they readjusted to the grind of the work week. Jewish life can inoculate one, to a certain extent, from developing “the Mondays.” After all, we greet the return of the week on Saturday night with havdalah, making Monday just a transition to work. But, in the world of COVID, that transition has, especially for parents, become abrupt and jarring—even for those who carefully observe Shabbat. After all, supervising schoolwork, settling arguments, changing diapers, and preparing meaningful (but safe) physical fitness and leisure activities is not exactly an ideal work environment. Unfortunately, our tradition does not provide answers for parenting during the pandemic—but thankfully, it offers some sense of perspective. The daily blessings that begin each shacharit, our morning prayers, ask us to acknowledge and give thanks for [...]