The Best Defense is a Good Offense
The year was 1967, and Israel stood alone. Egypt, Syria, and Jordan had massed their massive armies on every border, their leaders promising Israel's annihilation. Rather than wait to absorb the blow, Israel struck first on the morning of June 5th, sending nearly its entire air force in low, radar-evading waves that caught the Egyptian Air Force sitting on its runways — and destroyed it in three hours. With the sky owned completely, Israeli tanks rolled through the Sinai, paratroopers fought through the old city of Jerusalem, and infantry stormed the Golan Heights. Six days later it was over. Three armies broken, Israel's territory tripled, and Jerusalem reunified for the first time in two thousand years. It was a victory born not of luck but of Divine miracles and the willingness to act decisively when hesitation would have meant extinction.
Peace through Strength
Rivka Ravitz, a mother of 12, had achieved a historic milestone as the first woman and religious individual to serve as Chief of Staff for a President of Israel.
During a recent interview, Ravitz reflected on the numerous opportunities she had to meet with world leaders and the admiration they expressed for her unwavering commitment to upholding her Jewish values and raising a large family while fulfilling her duties in a prominent position.
Self-Respect
In July of 2022, Israeli pop star Yuval Dayan stirred an outcry and a heated public debate in Israel when she refused to shake hands with visiting US President Joe Biden due to her religious beliefs.
Dayan, along with another singer, Ran Danker, performed at a ceremony marking Biden's receipt of Israel's highest civilian honor.
Maximizing our Potential
There is a famous anecdote that tells of the Sage Reb Zusha of Anipoli (1718, Tarnow, Poland- 1800, Anipoli, Ukraine) relating to his disciples, “When I go up to heaven after my time on earth is completed, I am not afraid of being asked why I was not as great as Moses, after all, G‑d already has a Moses. I am afraid, however, of being asked, ‘Zusha, why weren’t you Zusha?’ ”
How to Fight Anti-Semitism
In 2020, Bari Weiss resigned from The New York Times, citing a hostile work environment and experiences of anti-semitic harassment. Since then, she has emerged as a powerful voice for Jewish resilience and moral courage.
In her award-winning book, How to Fight Anti-Semitism, Weiss writes that like many American Jews, she once believed the United States would remain immune to the historic waves of antisemitism. With its founding principles of religious freedom, equality, and pluralism, America has served as a modern-day “New Jerusalem.”