Fasting is found in every religious tradition as a form of penance, purification, and spiritual discipline. It is undertaken with the understanding that physical discomfort elevates spiritual status. In Christian, Hindu and Buddhist traditions, extreme form of ascetic practices with prolonged seclusion and fasting is used as a vehicle of purification. Judaism and Islam are…
“Prayer is God’“Prayer is God’s backstage pass into a personal audience with Him”. Tony Evanss backstage pass into a personal audience with Him”. Tony Evans Judaism and Islam has a complex relationship over the centuries. On the one hand, there is mutual acceptance of basic tenet of monotheism and soundness of divinely inspired ethical standards…
“Lighthouses don’t go running all over an island looking for boats to save; they just stand there shining.” – Anne Lamott The Tanakh (Hebrew Bible) and the Quran are two sacred texts considered revelation from God by Judaism and Islam respectively. Both sacred texts are considered foundational stones of faith. The Tanakh is acronym for Torah…
Individual and collective social evolution is an interesting area of study. Famous historian Will Durant summarizes this process as “in ages of poverty and chaos, the will to believe is paramount, for courage is the one thing needful; in ages of wealth, the intellectual powers come to the fore as offering preferment and progress; consequently,…
“Conflict is drama, and how people deal with conflict shows you the kind of people they are.” Stephen Moyer The current Israeli-Hamas crisis is making the headlines, but a side show is also playing in the Red Sea area. Yemeni militant group Ansarullah (Friends of God) also known as Houthis is attacking commercial shipping that has significant negative…
Target Tehran is the story of Israel’s attempts to thwart nuclear ambitions of Iran and efforts that led to normalization of Israel’s relations with Arab countries in 2020 that was called the Abraham Accords. Yonah Jeremey Bob and Ilan Evyatar are veteran Israeli journalists with reliable sources in Israeli security establishment. The book deals with…
“The quality of our lives depends not on whether or not we have conflicts, but on how we respond to them.” Thomas Crum Israel has a multi-layered missile defense system to counter rockets, artillery, missiles, and Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs). This national missile defense program is called Homa (Hebrew for Fortress, Wall), which is a layered, active defense…
“History doesn’t stop. By the time we build capabilities from our vision against terror armies, we will be facing a new challenge because the enemy adapts.” Israeli army Brigadier General Eran Ortal, February 2023 Militaries change overtime due to changing political and security landscapes. Conflicts also force a change as every conflict shows the deficiencies…
“Our future does not depend on what the gentiles will say but on what the Jews will do.” David ben Gurion, Israel’s founding father. Israel is a diverse society and individual identities include religion, ethnicity, ideological and political views. Despite this diversity, Israel born amid existential security threat emerged as a strong country built on…
“I don’t need you to agree with me; I need you to care about me”. Rabbi Jonathan Sacks. Israel is going through unprecedented upheaval where large numbers are protesting the government’s legislative agenda related to the judiciary. Israeli politics is notoriously fractious, and the political system only allows a coalition government. Both Israelis and outsiders…
