Rosner’s Torah Talk: Parshat Vayeitzei With Rabbi David Lazar

We are so very fortunate that the diaspora shows up when Israel is under rocket fire and we are in shelters. The harder question is whether they will show up when Israel is underpriced.

A Jewish state means what international law has long recognized, what the moral logic of self-determination requires, and what the law of indigenous rights confirms.

Our nation’s leaders should exclude those whose behavior violates America’s fundamental moral values. That will send a message to athletes and aspiring athletes around the world that the United States rejects bigotry.

Christianity and Islam make fundamentally different claims about Jesus.

The Diaspora resembles the shepherd —dynamic, mobile, and less tied to place and land. Israel resembles the farmer — rooted, sovereign, and engaged with land and the challenges of power. The challenge is not to choose one over the other, but to create a balance.

For us today, as for God in Genesis, the question is how to bring out the best in these creatures while limiting the dangers they pose.

Israel’s path to independence unfolded under conditions where the outcome remained uncertain until it was achieved. No external mechanism could deliver it cleanly or without cost. It took shape through sustained effort in an environment defined by risk.