Judaism and Politics

Alex Ozar comments on preaching politics from the pulpit.

Eliezer Finkelman offers his thoughts on politicizing from the pulpit.

Shaul Seidler-Feller Introduction Early last week, a friend forwarded me a recently-published video produced in Israel. When it began to play, I was quickly taken in...

Wendy Zierler interprets a 2015 poem by the late Haim Gouri, reflecting on the challenges of aging, and on the complex and often mournful relationship between the Jewish people, their history, and their literature.

The worldview and thought process of Haman bear an uncanny resemblance to those of contemporary antisemitic movements. Drawing on the work of French psychoanalyst Jacque Lacan, Zach Truboff explores the fantasy at the heart of Haman's rage, takes note of its contemporary echoes, and proposes that Jews must beware of stumbling into our own version of this fantasy. This essay was written before the war with Iran. That Khamenei, who embodied the antisemitic fantasy as fully as any figure in our lifetime, was eliminated on the eve of Purim requires no commentary beyond what the Megillah itself provides.

Menachem Butler responds to Michael Bernstein's article about the propriety of placing flags in shul sanctuaries.

Jerome Marcus comments on the connection between davening with sinners and playing politics.

Roy Pinchot responds to Zach Truboff's article decrying the ethical and spiritual costs of the war.

In honor of Flag Day, Michael Bernstein argues that national flags do not belong in our shul sanctuaries. Drawing on halakhic responsa, news reports, and photographic evidence, Bernstein locates the practice of displaying flags in shuls in its historical context and proposes that flags do not ever belong in prayer spaces.

Nathan Diament of the Orthodox Union Advocacy Center on the political advocacy of faith communities today.