The “New York Times” Publishes an Unsubstantiated Slander of the Israeli Government
A lengthy, deeply researched article doesn’t prove what it claims to.
July 15, 2025
Rembrandt’s Interpretation of Balaam and the Ass, and the Rabbis’
The Christian artist lets the Jewish Bible speak.
As yesterday’s newsletter mentioned, Saturday’s Torah reading tells the story of the Gentile prophet Balaam. William Kolbrener, in this brief video, analyzes Rembrandt van Rijn’s painting of a scene from this story, comparing it to some of the artist’s other biblical works, noting the attention both Rembrandt and the rabbis pay to sight and blindness, and observing how Rembrandt “lets the Jewish Bible speak.” For more on the subject, see Kolbrener’s brief essay here, as well as Rabbi Meir Soloveichik’s analysis of the same painting in Mosaic.
July 15, 2025
Whither Syria? Look Away from the News and at the Textbooks
The new government removed references to women—unless they murdered Israeli children.
As Haredi Parties Fight Conscription, Haredi Soldiers Sacrifice Their Lives to Fight Hamas
“Amid the grief there was a deep sense of privilege.”
Rembrandt’s Interpretation of Balaam and the Ass, and the Rabbis’
The Christian artist lets the Jewish Bible speak.
Building Jewish History from the Common Man Up
The story of YIVO.
