Judaism, Civilization & Progress

As in any duality, we must determine which side of the coin is dominant and which secondary: Does progress serve tradition, or does tradition serve progress?

If the popular demonstrations going on in Iran right now turn into a full blown revolution—and it's getting darn close—it may well go down in history as the Twitter Revolution...

Democracy and human rights are cornerstones of our moral vision in the modern era. Where do we Jews fit--historically and ideologically--into this picture?

When I hear the M word, I feel hot air breathed down my back. Mental flags go up, signaling, "Someone's got an agenda here, and the agenda is to take you over."

Democracy is one of the hallmarks of our wondrous modern world, but it relies on a counterforce to sustain it.

The big question of history is: why is there any history at all? Meaning, why is there a story, that which we call progress? How did history get its arrow?

Yes, there's tension here, and as every good dramatist and massage therapist knows, tension is a good point to play with

Why does the Torah command us to annihilate the seven Canaanite nations? Why would G‑d put the everlasting guilt of wiping out entire communities upon any group of people, especially those he favors? If there were populations that were so evil, why wouldn't He take care of it Himself?

A Kabbalistic perspective on the rapid growth of technology as a harbinger of the Messianic Era.

I recently attended a seminar on the Canadian Human Rights Commissions. On the whole, the event amounted to a wholesale "Let's Quash the Human Rights Commissions" extravaganza...

Under America’s criminal justice system, we have incarcerated more than two million of our fellow citizens in federal, state and county facilities. In contrast, the concept of prison does not appear anywhere in Judaism...

Maybe the whole problem with capitalism is the script we're writing for it. Maybe if we rewrote that script, the same forces that are messing up the world would be fixing it instead...

The world has its destiny, produced and directed by the Master of all destiny. A destiny in which Steve Jobs played a principal role.

Ancient Israel had to defend itself, like any other nation. But the Torah also lays down guidelines to ensure that this horrible tool is used sparingly and compassionately.

The Rebbe had a certain vision, a very radical vision, of heaven, earth and the human being. Radical, but somehow completely grounded in the same tradition in which all these crazy modern values are rooted.