by Ram ben Ze’ev Tzedakah: Justice, Not Performance There is a profound difference between what the world calls “charity” and what the Torah calls צדקה (tzedakah – righteousness, justice). The difference is not semantic; it is foundational. One is rooted in ego. The other in truth. The nations speak of charity as an act of kindness. It is optional, generous, even admirable. A person gives because he chooses to give, because he feels compassion, or, increasingly in our age, be

by Ram ben Ze’ev The Lamb, The Stars, and the Illusion of Power The Torah in שמות (Shemot) commands something extraordinary on the eve of redemption: each household was to take a lamb on the tenth of Nissan, keep it for several days, and then slaughter it on the fourteenth, placing its blood upon the doorposts. This was not a quiet act. It was deliberate, visible, and defiant. To understand this moment, we must understand the world in which it occurred. Egypt was not merely a

by Ram ben Ze’ev Pesach, Not “Passover”: The Distortion of a Divine Act The word matters. It shapes thought, and thought shapes belief. When the Nations refer to פסח (Pesach – protection, sparing, hovering), they reduce it to “Passover,” a term that strips the depth, the intention, and the reality of what occurred. This is not a harmless translation. It is a distortion. The progression is clear and revealing: the Hebrew פסח expresses an active Divine guarding, a presence that

by Ram ben Ze’ev Ki Tetze: When Israel Goes Out to War — Alignment, Not Assumption The words כי תצא (Ki Tetze – when you go out) open with precision. They do not command war; they describe it. They assume that man—individually and nationally—will choose to step into conflict. The verse states: כי תצא למלחמה על איביך — when you go out to war against your enemies. The initiative is human. The judgment that follows is Divine. The Holy Zohar teaches that this “going out” is not m

by Ram ben Ze’ev Shabbat HaGadol: The Shabbat of Greatness Before Redemption This Shabbat is known as שבת הגדול (Shabbat HaGadol – the Great Shabbat), the final Shabbat before פסח (Pesach – the Festival of Redemption), and it carries a weight and significance far beyond its name. For me, it also carries something deeply personal, as I was born on this very Shabbat—linking my own beginning, in some small way, to this moment of preparation before redemption. The term “HaGadol”

by Ram ben Ze’ev The United Nations and the Politics of Historical Guilt The United Nations General Assembly has adopted a resolution declaring the transatlantic slave trade to be the “gravest crime against humanity.” While the horrors of slavery are undeniable and no moral person today would defend such a practice, the resolution itself reveals more about the modern political agenda of the United Nations than it does about historical reality. Before the vote, the United Stat

by Ram ben Ze'ev The Problem with the Term “Orthodox” in Judaism The term “Orthodox,” so commonly used today to describe traditional Jews, is not a Hebrew word and does not originate from Jewish sources. Rather, it comes from the Ancient Greek word orthodoxos , meaning “correct belief” or “right opinion.” The word itself is formed from two Greek roots: orthos , meaning “straight,” “right,” or “true,” and doxa , meaning “opinion,” “belief,” or “praise.” From a Jewish standpoin

by Ram ben Ze’ev When the Argument Cannot Be Answered, Attack the Man In politics, one of the oldest tactics is also one of the most revealing. When a leader cannot answer an argument, the response is often not to address the facts but to destroy the credibility of the person who raised them. That is precisely what we are seeing now. Joe Kent did something that senior officials rarely do: he resigned his position on principle. As Director of the National Counterterrorism Cent

by Ram ben Ze’ev You Cannot Legislate Hatred Out of the Human Heart A recent interview published yesterday between Tucker Carlson and Glenn Greenwald begins with a familiar complaint. Both men lament the growing number of laws being enacted in various countries—among them the United States and Australia—that seek to criminalise negative or derogatory speech about Israel or about Jews. The discussion is not surprising coming from Carlson. His public commentary over the past se