Yosef Y. Jacobson
ARTICLES BY: Yosef Y. Jacobson
Facebook and the Third Intifada
Swept up by the momentum of the recent Facebook-powered revolutions in the Arab world, a newly formed, super-viral Palestinian group on Facebook openly advocates another...
Don’t Celebrate Ignorance
A great deal of intelligence can be invested in ignorance. -- Saul Bellow Light travels faster than sound. That's why most people seem bright until...
Egypt Overturned, But Israel’s Existence Still Questioned
Two old Jewish men are standing in front of the Czar's firing squad. The officer asks them if they would like a final cigarette. One of...
Ahmadinejad and Hitler
One of the intriguing things about the Ten Commandments is that they were engraved on two separate tablets. Was G-d short of granite...
The Paradoxes of Oil as a Guide for Living
Why Celebrate Oil? The kindling of a menorah during the eight days of Chanukah commemorates an ancient miracle that occurred in our Jerusalem Holy ...
“My Heart Swells with Joy” – At a gala banquet with 4000 Chabad ambassadors
Mr. Benny (Yechiel Benzion) Fishhof, a prominent New York businessman and a member of the Chassidic group of Ger, stood at the gala banquet...
Vayelech: A 2,000-Year-Old Debate on Whether to “Get Out of the Box”
Synagogue Bulletin Blunders These announcements, with interesting typos and phrasing blunders, were reportedly found in various synagogue newsletters and bulletins around the country. 1. ...
Ki Savo: A Tale of Two Mountains
A new teacher was trying to make use of her psychology courses. She started her class by saying, "Everyone who thinks he's stupid, please...
Ki Teitzei: Why Children Rebel
Two phases In a military class the professor asked the students, "What is the difference between an engagement and a battle?" No one in the group offered...
Shoftim: Jacob’s Last Lecture “Lost Souls – Secret messages between Joseph to Jacob”
The rabbi and his driver A renowned rabbi, a brilliant philosopher, was held in high regard by his driver, who listened in awe at every...
Re’eh: How Jews View History
Progress "I have lost my faith in the idea of progress." With those words columnist Anthony Lewis spoke the epilogue to his career as...
Eikev: “Which You Broke”
"Which You Broke" The simple reading of the story goes like this: After the Jews created a Golden Calf, Moses smashed the stone tablets created...
Va’etchanan: Let Us Dream Together
"Too much for you!" In the beginning of this week's portion (Vaeschanan), Moses beseeches G-d to allow him entry into the Promised Land. "Please...
Devarim: Moses, Isaiah and Jeremiah
An intriguing Midrash states that three of the great Jewish personalities communicated their prophesies using an identical Hebrew term, eicha, which means...
