Levi Brackman’s Website

Israel is yet again embroiled in a war that was completely predictable and arguably avoidable if proper foresight had been exercised and if the ill-fated disengagement from Gaza had not led to the inevitable installation of a Hamas regime. At present...

This week’s Torah portion talks about the sin of the golden calf. Moses had ascended Mount Sinai to receive instructions from God and the two tablets of the covenant known in Hebrew as the luchot habrit. Moses was supposed to have been away for...

Recently a new book was published, which caught my attention initially because of the title and then because of its content. That book is Foreskin's Lament by Shalom Auslander. Although I admit to not having read the entire book, the first chapte...

If Moral Relativism leads to chaos and Moral Absolutism to tyranny, what's left? In conversation with the president of a local university he claimed that ninety percent of his students are moral relativists. Moral Relativism, which is practically the...

After six Muslims were arrested this week for plotting a terrorist attack on an American army base I heard an interview with a representative of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR). He was expressing concern for the safety of his communi...

Israel often makes Diaspora Jews feel excluded from the Jewish enterprise which is Israel As a British citizen living in the USA and married to an Israeli I have a complex relationship with Yom Haatzmaut (Israeli Independence Day). Yom Hazikaron (Is...

What, however, should the role of a synagogue be in the life of a Jew?   How often have you heard people say, “I am a Jew at heart although I do not go to the synagogue much?” Somehow during the High Holidays Jews seem to flock to th...

Life is all about relationships. We have work-related relationships, we have acquaintances, we have friendships, familial and intimate relationships. Maimonides, one of Judaism’s greatest scholars, wrote that man is a social animal. We have no ...

“As the plane landed at Ben Gurion airport, the Captain made his announcement: "Please remain seated with your seatbelt fastened until this plane comes to a complete standstill and the seat belt signs have been turned off. To those who are...

Matisyahu is now an international phenomenon; he is a reggae singer with a difference. Instead of dreadlocks he sports a trilby. His beard is predicated on the Kabbalists’ theosophy instead of Rastafarian tradition and his clothing places him i...

There will always be Jews who help their enemies demonize them in order to gain favour. Anti-Semites have always been good at exploiting this Jewish weakness - indeed the Nazis were experts at this. Now in the twenty-first century the Anti-Semites ar...

“As the plane landed at Ben Gurion airport, the Captain made his announcement: "Please remain seated with your seatbelt fastened until this plane comes to a complete standstill and the seat belt signs have been turned off. To those who are...

Matisyahu is now an international phenomenon; he is a reggae singer with a difference. Instead of dreadlocks he sports a trilby. His beard is predicated on the Kabbalists’ theosophy instead of Rastafarian tradition and his clothing places him i...

Amongst other things, the Torah teaches us the six hundred and thirteen ordinances that G-d commanded us.  Many of the Torah’s laws are dependent on the existence of our Holy Temple. Consequently nearly half of these six hundred and thirte...

Life is all about relationships. We have work-related relationships, we have acquaintances, we have friendships, familial and intimate relationships. Maimonides, one of Judaism’s greatest scholars, wrote that man is a social animal. We have no ...