Repentance and the New Year

In the days between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, also called the Yamim Hanoraim or the Ten Days of Awe, humankind is meant to disconnect from the routine of daily life and to enter a spiritual air in which thoughts and actions are meant to correspond with the unique days ahead of us, such as atonement, forgiveness and so on. One of the most important gifts given to man since Adam and through the generations is the gift of "repentance", as a force that drives humankind and gives hope for a better future.

Repentance is the power to change. It is the ability to renew our decision-making. Repentance allows man to fulfill what is revealed to him in the Book of Deuteronomy in Parashat Nitzavim (Hebrew for "ones standing") Chapter 30:15-18 "See, I have set before thee this day life and good, and death and evil? therefore choose life, that thou mayest live, thou and thy seed".

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Repentance and the New Year

One of the most important gifts given to man since ‘Adam' and through the generations is the gift of ‘repentance', as a force that drives humankind and gives hope for a better future.

Needed: Ministry of Home Front Security

The public debate following the Second Lebanon war does not stop. The discussion is undertaken by various commissions, in governmental, military and civilian frameworks, within groups and individually. It has become the most significant public discourse, starting with politicians and reaching idlers and market peddlers. Usually, the various reactions can be identified in advance according to socio-economic groups, while everyone waits for the final Winograd report.

Even so, I still dare use a general expression that characterizes almost all conclusions, and in my opinion, will also be the fate of the Winograd report, that is "hindsight vision is always 20/20". Therefore, it will not influence nor change the political and coalition-based situation in the government.

Needed: Ministry of Home Front Security

My suggestion is the establishment of a new ministry: The Ministry of Home Front Security. At the head will sit a minister who will occupy a permanent post, with the right authority and an organized budget.

Escape route required

Israel needs - from a humanitarian standpoint and from a political one - to be a bridge for the refugees from Gaza to the Palestinian Authority.

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Spiritual existence

What distinguishes the Jewish people from all other nations is the festival that marks the revelation at Mount Sinai and the acceptance of the Torah.

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The retrospective wise men

I don't understand the throngs of demonstrators that are taking the trouble to get on every stage to "explain" to the bereaved families that their sacrifices were in vain.

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Liberty or freedom

Surely, it is difficult to achieve liberty when slavery exists. But liberty can stand alone.

Judicial criticism

What will we do when confusion mounts and one of the three pillars of our democracy - Government, Legislative and Judicial - loses direction of its place in the democratic process, stomping over the other?

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