Rabbi always meant teacher. And Torah means literally “ instruction”. A Rabbi is a teacher of Torah and Jewish wisdom. And, O my, there’s so much to talk about.
The Tanakh is saturated with the Land of Israel and how the Land was always one with Ancient Israel’s identity. This is what Jews need to learn. There’s also the State of Israel, of course ,and the modern miracles that have occurred there, and the way our fellow Jews live there. One can draw on the internecine arguments in the Tanakh and project them to our own age and ages in between. Little has changed 😊.
All this takes a lot more knowledge, study, talent and Jewishness than opining in a pugilistic vein on politics, to vent one’s narcissistic momentary opinions, forgetting that Israel, again miraculously, is a democracy, and whatever government was chosen under its own sovereign system might change soon enough into a different one, one you might “ like” more or… less. How does that flux of choices by the Israeli citizens, our people, stack against our overall millenarian history? How can Rabbis be that petty and self-involved?
Rabbis used to be at least as large as Life, and many were and are larger than Life . Today, seminaries churn out too many mindless, immature characters , like those “ hello Rabbi!” in the Mamdani video advertisement. These incompetent non-leaders of Judaism are disservice to shepherding a congregation hungry for meaning and identity at best and a disgrace at worst.
There’s an aura of grandeur in the word Rabbi. The root of the word serves as the basis for “ great, vast, numerous”. The “ not-so-great, narrow and small minded” type embarrasses the meaning.
Very good article. Not being picky but we go back 3800 years on the land of Israel from Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. 3000 years ago goes back to the time of King David.
Fantastic article! I would just add one more group of Diaspora Jews: those of who support Israel whole-heartedly and defend Israel to anyone who will listen.
Mr. Hoffman, have you always been Israeli, or have you also lived in an English speaking country? Your writing (both writing style and content) is brilliant, well organized, and utterly compelling. I find myself wishing my children had had an education similar to yours.
👏👏👏 A really good article, Joshua that bluntly tells an important truth. That being that while Diaspora Jews are allowed to have an opinion on Israel, the voices of Israelis who live the situation in the country come first. Partisan politics should have nothing to do with the Jewish faith or support for Zionism.
The entire Jewish people includes the non-diaspora Jews who never left, who followed Christ or converted to Islam and were Arabized. One can be completely Jewish and Arabic at the same time, regardless of modern identity politics. Their genetic, geographic, and archaeological direct descendancy from the Israelites from scientific facts prove they are the people of the land with us.
Rabbi always meant teacher. And Torah means literally “ instruction”. A Rabbi is a teacher of Torah and Jewish wisdom. And, O my, there’s so much to talk about.
The Tanakh is saturated with the Land of Israel and how the Land was always one with Ancient Israel’s identity. This is what Jews need to learn. There’s also the State of Israel, of course ,and the modern miracles that have occurred there, and the way our fellow Jews live there. One can draw on the internecine arguments in the Tanakh and project them to our own age and ages in between. Little has changed 😊.
All this takes a lot more knowledge, study, talent and Jewishness than opining in a pugilistic vein on politics, to vent one’s narcissistic momentary opinions, forgetting that Israel, again miraculously, is a democracy, and whatever government was chosen under its own sovereign system might change soon enough into a different one, one you might “ like” more or… less. How does that flux of choices by the Israeli citizens, our people, stack against our overall millenarian history? How can Rabbis be that petty and self-involved?
Rabbis used to be at least as large as Life, and many were and are larger than Life . Today, seminaries churn out too many mindless, immature characters , like those “ hello Rabbi!” in the Mamdani video advertisement. These incompetent non-leaders of Judaism are disservice to shepherding a congregation hungry for meaning and identity at best and a disgrace at worst.
There’s an aura of grandeur in the word Rabbi. The root of the word serves as the basis for “ great, vast, numerous”. The “ not-so-great, narrow and small minded” type embarrasses the meaning.
Very good article. Not being picky but we go back 3800 years on the land of Israel from Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. 3000 years ago goes back to the time of King David.
Fantastic article! I would just add one more group of Diaspora Jews: those of who support Israel whole-heartedly and defend Israel to anyone who will listen.
Mr. Hoffman, have you always been Israeli, or have you also lived in an English speaking country? Your writing (both writing style and content) is brilliant, well organized, and utterly compelling. I find myself wishing my children had had an education similar to yours.
Or does it just come naturally to you?
Thank you!
👏👏👏 A really good article, Joshua that bluntly tells an important truth. That being that while Diaspora Jews are allowed to have an opinion on Israel, the voices of Israelis who live the situation in the country come first. Partisan politics should have nothing to do with the Jewish faith or support for Zionism.
The entire Jewish people includes the non-diaspora Jews who never left, who followed Christ or converted to Islam and were Arabized. One can be completely Jewish and Arabic at the same time, regardless of modern identity politics. Their genetic, geographic, and archaeological direct descendancy from the Israelites from scientific facts prove they are the people of the land with us.