An important and interesting argument. A few additional comments:  1) My understanding is that Milchemet Reshut does not apply to anyone today - including Jews, because the prerequsites - the assent of a King, the Sanhedrin, ...

       Dr. Wertheimer makes - or rather, repeats - various time-worn arguments on behalf of "responsible" Jewish engagement that fall rather flat. In addition, he avoids the major issue that faces American Judaism today. In ...

Yes, disciplining/reigining in our desires  and wants is crucial to spiritual development and finding our true Self. Yes, keeping Shabbos is, in Heschel's words, a "cathedral in time" that, weekly, allows us - theoretically - to live ...

Though an interesting article, the widely popular but (in my opinion) incorrect myth about Judaism being primarily concerned with 'repair of the world' and 'engagement' is once again recycled. Judaism is NOT about 'Tikkun ...

I think both the power and the aims of non-violence are being misunderstood here. First, the usual argument that non-violence only works against "civilized" colonialists is simply not true - both apartheid and Soviet Communism were ...

Hi,      Not to be overly tendentious, but the 'mantras' on this website are not really 'mantras' at all - they are affirmations. The essence of a mantra is that its' explicit meaning is not really important ...