Pini Dunner
ARTICLES BY: Pini Dunner
Why Tisha B’Av — and the Current Moment — Are Not the End of the Story
The Tisha B’Av experience is utterly unique. You sit on the floor in the half-dark, your shoes off, your voice cracking through the dirge-like cadences...
Devarim and the Man Who Refuses to Be Broken
There is a particular quality to the voice of a man who has been trampled but refuses to be broken. I heard it this week...
The Dream of Chachmei Lublin
Earlier this week, together with a group from America and the UK brought together by Project Mesorah, I stood inside the original building of Yeshivas Chachmei...
This Is What I Just Saw on the Ground in Israel
This week, I traveled through Israel. Not the Israel of Western media headlines, international panels, diplomatic statements, campus encampments, sanctimonious editorials, or foreign politicians who...
The Fight for the Future of the Jewish Community Is Happening Right Now in Europe
Next Thursday, Jews around the world will begin the Three Weeks, the annual period of mourning for the destruction of ancient Jerusalem and its two...
Parshat Korach: When Words Are Not Enough
There is something wonderfully reassuring about the phrase "Memorandum of Understanding." It sounds sober and civilized. "Memorandum" conveys confidence — it is official; it is...
A Message for the Haredi Community: You Can’t Claim to Be Too Holy When the War Must Be Fought
This week, thousands of Israelis found themselves trapped in traffic as Haredi demonstrations brought major highways and railway lines to a standstill. Routes 1, 4 and 6...
The Jewish People Can’t Forget the Past — but We Also Can’t Live There
It is said that "the good old days" are a combination of a bad memory and a good imagination. Every generation seems convinced that things...
A Message From The Torah: Live an Ordinary Life
Some years ago, cool high-end executives became obsessed with something called a “dopamine detox.” The idea behind it was that modern life overstimulates your brain...
Shavuot and the Enduring Genius of Sinai
“People don’t buy what you do – they buy why you do it.” This famous observation by the self-described “unshakeable optimist” Simon Sinek has become...
What Parshat Bamidbar Teaches Us About Social Media, Politics, and the State of Our Society
In the aftermath of World War II, Europe was a continent in ruins. Cities were flattened, governments had collapsed, economies were shattered, and millions of...
The Special Importance of Memory in Judaism
A few weeks ago, I conducted the funeral of Ron Plotkin, former owner of Monster.com and once a leading philanthropist in Los Angeles. In recent...
Are We Actually Living Better Lives — or Just Better-Measured Ones?
"Not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted." This line is often attributed to Albert Einstein, but it...
Following the Rules Doesn’t Free You From Moral Responsibility
In November 2024, UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer announced that Lord Peter Mandelson would be heading to Washington, DC as Britain's next ambassador to...
