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Rabbis since the Middle Ages onwards have sought to prove the validity of the Torah and our belief in G-d from the story of G-d’s revelation to the whole Jewish people at Mount Sinai. As explained by Rabbi Judah Halevi in the Kuzari, the logic goes like this: If G-d had not actually appeared to all the Jewish people, then it would have been impossible for someone to write a book that would be adopted as truth by those people. Because Jews of previous generations accepted the Torah as truth and passed it down to subsequent generations, and ultimately to...

In all my years, covering nearly half a century, of studying, practicing, and teaching Judaic and secular law, I have never seen such gutless cowardice and irresponsible “adjudication” as what just has transpired in Israel with the Israeli “Supreme” Court voting 8-7 to ban a Constitutional Amendment regulating them. On top of that, they rule two days later on the Incapacitation Law. All amid an existential war that, if not prosecuted as a nation united, could result kiv’yakhol (as though possible, G-d forbid) in a situation where there would be no country left to implement those corrupt rulings, reached as...

In Igros Moshe Even HaEzer 4:113 Rav Moshe Feinstein responded to a question that concerned a husband who, unbeknownst to his wife at the time they married, turned out to be engulfed in homosexual behavior. Could the marriage be annulled due to mekach ta'us (a purchase made under false pretenses), or would the wife require a get (writ of divorce) as is standard? After a Talmudic analysis, Rav Moshe writes as follows (see here for original Hebrew): “Regarding the matter at hand, since we find that a great blemish is in essence a mekach ta'us even regarding a woman [who...

In my meandering post from last night I theorized that the Left was using jim crow and the civil rights movement to initiate a process whereby the "unjust" laws of G-d would be superseded by the "just" secular laws of man. This is the root of the whole problem. Because there never was, is not now, and never will be an objective secular standard of morality/ethics/justice. Any system created by people is going to be arbitrary. Furthermore, the very purpose of morality/ethics/justice is submission to the Divine Will. Any system which by-passes this for mere utilitarian results is missing the...

For many decades now I have been wracking my brain trying to understand how things work and why nothing seems to make sense. The following observations/theories are my own and no one else is responsible in any way. Let's look at this freak show of a political coalition: Fundamentalist Blacks, theocratic moslems, sixteenth century Hispanic folk Catholics, scientific materialists, indigenous shamanism, hex-casting "wiccans," and people who put up statues of their conception of "the devil." Maddening, isn't it? I would first like to point out that the basic thrust of the left is the celebration of what it considers to...

After Azerbaijani forces retook Shusha, the cultural capital of the Azerbaijani people and a peace agreement was signed that was favorable to Azerbaijan, Azerbaijanis, both in Azerbaijan and the Diaspora, have been waving Israeli flags at every available opportunity, as a token of appreciation for both Israeli humanitarian assistance and the weapons that Israel sold them, which tipped the strategic balance in their favor. No other Muslim nation except for the Kurds has ever waved the Israeli flag across the streets of their nation. This right here demonstrates how much Israeli-Azerbaijani relations are blossoming. As Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu...

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I was watching some old war movies on Monday, and I am reminded of one with an unforgettable scene but whose title I simply cannot remember. It's set in China, and in the scene I mentioned Philip Ahn (Master Kan from "Kung Fu") is calmly teaching his students as the Japanese bombs fall around them. He asks them what their country is. "Our country is goodness" says one student. "Our country is kindness [or something like that]" says another. "Goodness and kindness [or whatever] make fine countries," he tells them. Anyway the implication is that they are all killed in...

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Dear friends: I'm having a computer problem I would like some advice/help on. Please be aware that this problem has been ongoing for several weeks, so please don't advise me to reboot or clear out the cache since I've done that several times and it makes no difference whatsoever. And please don't ask if my computer is plugged in or turned on. I don't understand why cruelly having fun at the expense of someone with an issue is so popular here. Daily Motion is an excellent site for watching old movies and TV shows that YouTube won't allow. I used...

Four years old, but absolutely heart rending. Click on the link to view the video.

The Hamas terrorist organization was stung by the recent high-profile defection of one of its top operatives, Suheib Yousef. Yousef is the son of Hamas co-founder, Sheikh Hassan Yousef. He is also the brother of Mosab Hassan Yousef, who defected from Hamas in the late 1990s. Mosab provided Israel’s Shin Bet counter-terrorist security service with information on Hamas and ultimately converted to Christianity. He also authored the book, “Son of Hamas,” exposing the group’s corruption, duplicity and brutality.

I meant to post something last night, really, but we had a crisis involving the home cooling system suddenly not working and endangering my 89-year old mother (who has a history of heart failure). Thank G-d it's fixed now, but I realize just a prolonged power outage at the wrong time of year could be fatal. Anyway, yes, today is my 20th anniversary as Free Republic's you-know-what in the punch bowl, as well as its most grumpy and offensive member. I first signed up to defend Israel from the freaking NAZIS who were infesting the site back then. Eventually I...

I think I'm going to be ill. I just sat through the live announcement of the 2019 Pulitzer Prize winners and I have never in my life seen such a vindication of everything we believe about the contemporary mainstream media. First was an agonizing prelude of quotations and videos praising our liberal journalist "friends" for about ten or fifteen minutes (apparently non-liberal journalists don't count as journalists--the hypocrites!). At least it felt like fifteen minutes. Then came the prizes themselves. They literally hit on every left wing trope in existence. They bestrode the entire left wing spectrum from one end...

Click on the link to relive some tragic American folk history.

Jews have spread many revolutionary and ideological messages in the past. The irony cannot be missed that all these ideologies turned against Judaism. I am not Jewish - unfortunately. If I were Jewish I could make Aliyah and settle definitely in your marvelous homeland. I had the privilege of living four years in Jerusalem. I blessed every day I lived there, enjoying the warmth and easy familiarity with which Israelis relate to each other.

Socialism is on the march! It’s just that nobody quite knows what it is. A Gallup poll in August found that 57 percent of Democrats said they view socialism positively, while only 47 percent had a favorable view of capitalism. Only 16 percent of Republicans thought well of socialism. Findings like this—along with other polls showing socialism’s support among millennials generally as well as the sudden celebrity of avowed socialist Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez after her stunning defeat of fourth-ranked Democratic House leader Joseph Crowley in a New York primary—have invited waves of op-eds crashing across the waterfront: What is socialism? Why...

Imagine there’s no heaven It’s easy if you try No hell below us Above us only sky Imagine all the people living for today Imagine there’s no countries It isn’t hard to do Nothing to kill or die for And no religion too Imagine all the people living life in peace You may say I’m a dreamer But I’m not the only one I hope some day you’ll join us And the world will be as one Imagine no possessions I wonder if you can No need for greed or hunger A brotherhood of man Imagine all the people sharing...

It seems like a lifetime in a dark cave, but I'm finally online from home again. My old computer (which was brand new at the beginning of last year) apparently couldn't be fixed. They sold me a used but better computer and put all my stuff on it besides. It's so good to be back. Hopefully this time it will last a while.

I'm sure you've all noticed that I have been missing for a while. Unfortunately, my computer conked out on the 11th of this month and I have been without one since. I also don't know if I will ever get it back. I'm very disappointed (to put it mildly) that a brand new Dell Inspiron computer, purchased at Best Buy on Feb.15 of last year (with help from a total stranger on the Internet) didn't even last a year and a half. It is in the shop but all signs point to it being unfixable. It was already acting a...