What Is Light
Light. What is light? Illumination of things. What is illumination? The alleviation of darkness. What is darkness? Absence. Absence of what? Light.
Gil
Statement on the Discourse of Genocide
Statement on the Tiktok Discourse of Genocide in Gaza The Mt. Zion Bureau of Public Affairs affirms the responsibility of every sovereign state, including Israel, to conduct military operations in accordance with international humanitarian law. We recognize that the current war in Gaza has caused profound suffering and immense civilian loss of life. Allegations of … Read more
Devastation of Gaza
The devastation of Gaza can still shock and pain me, as a thinking and feeling human being and as a religious Zionist, and pose a collective challenge to Israeli society that demands a coherent answer, without any need to redefine genocide in order to make it fit the horrific impact of this war on the … Read more
The Z Word Podcast
NGL I kinda want to have open, honest, soulful conversations with people about Zionism in today’s world and the shared future of Palestinians and Israelis, and record them and release them as a podcast The Z Word.
Daughter of Many Worlds
Welcome, my dearDaughter of many worldsDropped into this thin planeOf cells and stardustAcross invisible bandsBeneath the rainbowForm made fleshRevelation of the obsidian light Here, my dearAll is always newEmbracing the seed of your soul Cosmic soil for your mind’s flowerEver growingEver reachingBack through the stars themselvesTracing memories of the forest’s mysteryIn ever wider circles of … Read more
Sketch of the Amida
A rough sketch of the ‘amida: Through systematically developing a concept of the Creator and making that concept real through the act of dialogic address to the Creator, we bring about the redemption. First, we establish the grounds for the encounter – praise: the ancestral relationship, the omnipotence, the transcendance. Then, with those principles in … Read more
No Precept Is Small
The merit to fulfill even a small precept (מצווה) is truly great, because no divine precept is truly small. 😀
Forbidden War
I would like to suggest a new halakhic category of war. We are familiar with:– Mandatory war (מלחמת מצווה) – with the aim of clear self-defense (still applicable) or of defeating the violently oppressive nations identified in the law (no longer applicable).– Discretionary war (מלחמת רשות) – with the aim of expanding the political jurisdiction … Read more
Fetishizing Exile
Everyone’s entitled to their personal opinion but people who fetishize exile do not and can not represent the Jewish nation, in any serious context. Whether in the faculty of Harvard, the administration of the Rabbanut, the opinion pages of major media outlets, or wherever else Jewish representation matters and has meaningful consequences for Jewish autonomy.
Preaching to Progressives
It occurred to me why I may prefer preaching to progressives more than conservatives. Progressives generally don’t view tradition as obliging or a source of authority. Convincing them of the value of our traditional institutions and ways is comparatively harder; and when they are convinced, their appreciation for the beauty and benefit of our traditional … Read more