Sitemap - 2024 - In This Moment: A Rabbi's Notebook

New Year's Resolutions, Jewish Style

Waging Peace and Esau's Kiss - A Christmas & Hanukkah Wish

Religion and America's Gambling Problem

The Enemy is Certainty

Hanukkah & Christmas: Perfectly Aligned for a Blended America

“Total victory doesn’t actually mean anything here”

Rejecting Despair and Complacency

The Double Arch is gone, but God's love is here to stay

One More Item for Biden's To-Do List: Make Jan. 6 a National Fast Day

How should a Jew respond to ‘Merry Christmas’?

Notes from the Frying Pan: The latke as the perfect symbol for this existential moment, from Debbie Friedman to Dostoyevsky - to Barbie

Allow me to (re) introduce myself - and Substack - to my (new) (old) readers

How to Survive Your Thanksgiving Dinner - With New, Bonus Material

Real Israelis and Real Americans

How to Survive Your Thanksgiving Dinner

[UPDATED] Texas passes Bible-infused curriculum. Religion-state separation, long a simmering sideshow, is about to take center stage in the culture wars

"Worst case...in four years time we'll replace him"

Religion-state separation, long a simmering sideshow, is about to take center stage in the culture wars

How Should Jews Respond to Rampant Antisemitism and the Growing Threat of Autocracy?

Can Selfishness Save Us?

Join my chat

A Widening Rift and a Faith Based Ballot: What the 80-20 Jewish Vote Means

The Governors Josh

Present as Prologue - Reflections on the Morning After

Voting is a form of prayer

The Hammerman Trump Collection

The Power of One

For Trump, the Meanness is the Message

Sorry Donald, you didn't invent "The Weave." Rabbis have been doing it for centuries. So I'm going to Jewishly "weave" some thoughts about Israel, nature, and the current state of things.

The Fierce Urgency of "If Not Now"

Home Again: A Childhood Synagogue, a Talmudic Classroom and “Our Town.”

Mensch•Mark For Tishrei 9: Some Last Minute Advice from Our Sages

The Trumpiest Yom Kippur Confessional Ever

Mensch•Mark For Tishrei 8: A Good Heart - Middah Lev Tov

Mensch•Mark For Tishrei 7: Being Beloved - Ahuv

Mensch•Mark For Tishrei 6: Asking and Answering - Middah Shoayl U'Mayshiv

Trump vs Jewish Values: Are Holocaust-era comparisons ever appropriate? Yes. Exhibit A: What he said Monday

Mensch•Mark For Tishrei 5: Quoting One's Sources - Omer Davar BeShem Omro

Jack Smith's Jan. 6 Brief - Six Takeaways from Jewish Sources

Mensch•Mark For Tishrei 4: An Understanding of the Heart - Binat HaLev

Mensch•Mark For Elul 29, Tishri 1, 2 and 3

Rabbi Joshua Hammerman's High Holidays Message 2024 - "The Fear of Isaac"

Mensch•Mark For Elul 28: Love of Being Straightforward - Ohev et HaMaysharim

Mensch•Mark For Elul 27: To Share the Burden with One's Friend - Nosay B'ol Im Chavayro

Mensch•Mark For Elul 26: Limiting One's Involvement in Worldly Concerns - Miyut Derech Eretz

42 Years Later, Israel and Lebanon get a Do-Over

(Extra for Shabbat) Mensch•Mark For Elul 25: To Learn by Repetition - Middah Mishnah

Mensch•Mark For Elul 24: Knowing One's Place - Makir et Mekomo

Mensch•Mark For Elul 23: To Determine Exactly what One Hears - Mechavayn et Sh'muato

Mensch•Mark For Elul 22: Distance Yourself From Honor- Mitrachayk Min HaKavod

Greatest Hits from the Trump Era #1: Moving the Embassy to Jerusalem

Mensch•Mark For Elul 21: Sharpening the Wisdom of One's Teacher-Machkim et Rabo

Trust, Truth and Trump (and Netanyahu too)

Mensch•Mark For Elul 20: Contentment with One's Lot - Samayach B'Chelko

Since Trump keeps on attacking American Jews, here are 52 reasons, based on Jewish sources, why three quarters of American Jews won't vote for him.

Mensch•Mark For Elul 19: Sharp Discussion with Students - Pipul HaTalmidim

(Special for Shabbat) Mensch•Mark For Elul 18: Concentrate on One's Studies-Mityashev Libo BeTalmudo

Mensch•Mark For Elul 17 Setting Others on the Path of Peace-Ma'amido al HaShalom

Mensch•Mark For Elul 16 Cleaving to Friends - Dibuk Chaverim

Mensch•Mark For Elul 15: Set Others on the Path of Truth - Ma'amido al HaEmet

Mensch•Mark For Elul 14: Judging Others Favorably - Machrio L'Chaf Zechut

Mensch-Mark for Elul 13: Slowness to Anger - Erech Apayim

Mensch•Mark For Elul 12: Modesty - Anavah

The Springfield Blood Libel is Not Funny.

(Shabbat Special) Mensch•Mark For Elul 11: A Perceptive Heart - Sichlut HaLev

Mensch•Mark For Elul 10: Moderation in Business - Miyut Sechorah

Mensch•Mark For Elul 9: A Minimum of Small Talk - Miyut Sichah. (Or, how to avoid talking about dog eaters in a presidential debate).

Mensch•Mark For Elul 8 - Loving Righteous Ways - Ohev Et HaTzadakot

Mensch•Mark For Elul 7: A Minimum of Sleep - Miyut Shaynah

Mensch•Mark For Elul 6: Loving Reproof or Rebuke - Ohev et HaTochachot

Mensch•Mark For Elul 5: A Minimum of Pleasure - Miyut Ta'anug

Special Mensch•Mark For Elul 4: Loving God - Ohev et HaMakom (Extra for Shabbat)

Mensch•Mark For Elul 3: A Minimum of Frivolity - Miyut Sechok

Mensch•Mark For Elul 2: Loving All Creatures - Ohev et HaBriyot

Caught Between Heaven and Hell

Mensch•Mark For Elul 1: A Listening Ear - Sh'miat Ha'ozen

Starts Tomorrow: Mensch•Marks for the New Year

Coming Next Week: Mensch•Marks for the New Year

The Year of the Child

Why do they hate us? It's a fascinating question - and the wrong one

Fallen Arches and the God of Change

Some reflections on childless cat women, white-baby eugenics, Jewish "mitzvah babies," and developing an authentic culture of life

Who Knows One?

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Josh Shapiro's Second Bar Mitzvah Speech

Pray for Israel this Shabbat

In case you missed this: Here are 52 Jewish reasons why three quarters of American Jews won't - and shouldn’t - vote for you.

Thanks for asking, Donald. Here are 52 reasons why three quarters of American Jews won't vote for you.

What the Talmud says about Kamala's laugh - Plus, Netanyahu's terrible timing, and other reactions to his speech

Jerusalem Youth Chorus Wows "America's Got Talent" - This Could Become a Big Deal

Does God Send Bullets - or Hints?

The Last Dance

"I am Jewish"

1970s Jewish Trivia Quiz

My Cousin Jeff Avick's Landmark 1993 Speech: "What HIV Means To Me"

Memorial Day & D-Day(s); Jews, Money and Boesky

The Yearning (and other stuff)

Loneliness, Holiness, and Yom Hazikaron

Dear Gen Z Jews...

Benediction Given on 5/3 at Holocaust Memorial Program, State Senate Chambers, Hartford CT

"And Live By Them" - The Value of "Pikuach Nefesh"

A Rabbi Dies - and Kills - and More on "Flipping the Script"

In This Moment: Flipping the Script

"A Night of Watching"

How O.J. Simpson changed the way I think about God

Moral Clarity vs. Moral Purity

Jews Loved Joe Lieberman – But His Candidacy Made Us Nervous

Purim and Palm Sunday, Together at Last

Schumer, Wiesel and the Zone of Indifference

Leapin' Lizards, a Double Leap Year!

Humash with Rashi? How About "Israel with Joshi"

Christian Love vs "Jewish Hate" - A Tale of Two Super Bowl Ad Campaigns

Israel Held Hostage - By Congress

"The Great Replacement," Gaza Style

On Tu B'Shevat, Which Takes Precedence? The Land of Israel or the Earth?

The Unheeded Prophet

Blacks and Jews: Shame, Pride and the Curse of Canaan

The End of the Beginning?