Writing by Dr. Dannielle Blumenthal

What is President Trump actually doing with respect to Iran right now? What is the real plan? If you look closely at the chaos unfolding over the last 48 hours, you will see a massive internal revolt. On one side, you have a populist, “America First” base demanding we stay out of a prolonged conflict… — read more

Note: This post is about marriage, but it isn’t a tacit signal of support for abuse of any kind. If you or someone you know are being abused, please seek professional guidance.So, we’re on this retreat, the two of us, and we’re at the table. It’s like, you know, you get your food and all.… — read more

I was verbally sexually harassed at work a long time ago. It was a woman who started it. We used to meet once a week for a general update staff meeting. There was something very strange about her. In a roomful of very vanilla professionals, she kept saying inappropriate things. Not at me or about… — read more

Pompeo was the director of the CIA at one point. President Trump previously called him disloyal. I love how Trump, through comms, takes his fake a@@ down. Pompeo’s posturing is a pretty good sign that the Deep State is pushing overtly aggressive action, which means that a better plan is to play things the opposite… — read more

The Boruch Lanner case, which broke in 2000–along with many other contemporaneous pedophile cases of the time—broke my faith pretty hard. The incidents described below (not my own commentary) come from Gary Rosenblatt’s article on Lanner for the Jewish Week, which is linked at the end of this article. “When she…told Rabbi Lanner that she… — read more

Author’s Note During Shavuot, I unexpectedly encountered not one but two copies of a collection of Gary Rosenblatt’s Jewish Week columns. The volume contains his groundbreaking reporting on the Boruch Lanner scandal, Rabbi Mordechai Willig’s later public apology, and the immense communal trauma that unfolded between those two moments. I cannot begin to imagine the… — read more

Source of quotes: https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/7084976/jewish/Pious-Arguments-Against-Defending-Israel-Refuted.htm  “There is no reasoning with those who advocate concessions — thus, we should pay them no heed. Rather, we must protest against their claim and clearly state that theirs is not the Torah view! This view is contrary to the clear ruling in the Code of Jewish Law that one must… — read more

Modern Zionism emerged as a secular political movement in late nineteenth-century Europe, but its relationship to Jewish law and theology has never been merely political and its results have been to advance our faith. In my view, Zionism should be understood as a historical stepping stone toward the coming of the Moshiach, a stage in… — read more

Survivors may turn to self-proclaimed online advocates for support and to amplify their message. The reality is that they have their own agenda. When you DM an “influencer” to “raise awareness,” are you dealing with a “wolf in sheep’s clothing”? These seeming advocates may appear to promise sympathy and care. Who could look away from… — read more

One way you can tell that an adult is a CSA survivor is that they talk nonstop about protecting children and keeping them safe. It isn’t once in a while or every other day. It’s a flood. And it’s clear how they’re coping with unbearable trauma: they try to stop that same trauma from happening… — read more