Same Sex Wedding Cakes and Hate Speech
This week Rabbi Brad Hirschfield considers two very different cases that focus on bakers in Colorado and wedding cakes for gay couples. Rabbi Hirschfield says “There is a fundamental difference between refusing the serve somebody because of who they are, and in siting that all those with whom we interact affirm everything that we believe in.”
Read moreRabbi Brad Hirschfield on the Latest Charlie Hebdo Cover – What’s the Message?
This week, the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo published it’s first edition since the killings at their offices last week. On the cover: a cartoon of the Prophet Mohammed holding a sign saying “Je Suis Charlie”. “I get the impulse to put that cover out,” says Rabbi Brad Hirschfield, president of Clal and co-founder and executive editor of TheWisdomDaily.com,...
Read moreRabbi Brad Hirschfield on the Charlie Hebdo Attack: No Apologetics, No Islamophobia
This week the world watched in horror as armed gunman stormed the office of the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo, killing 12 people and injuring 11 more. As the story continues to unfold, what is the correct response? According to Rabbi Brad Hirschfield, president of Clal and co-founder and executive editor of TheWisdomDaily.com, “there is no room for apologetics, and there...
Read moreTorture or Enhanced Interrogation: Where Do You Stand?
On December 9, 2014 the U.S. Senate released its report on the CIA’s use of “enhanced interrogation techniques” against detainees suspected of being Al Qaeda fighters during the George W. Bush administration. Whether you call it torture or enhanced interrogation “is the best predictor we have of how you feel about this issue” says Rabbi Brad Hirschfield, president of...
Read moreThanksgiving Leftovers and Gratitude
Everyone has their favorite recipes for making the Thanksgiving feast last for days after the holiday meal. But Rabbi Brad Hirschfield, president of Clal and co-founder and executive editor of TheWisdomDaily.com, has some tips for stretching the leftover expressions of gratitude into our everyday lives.
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Rabbi Brad Hirschfield on How to Respond to the Jerusalem Attacks
This week four men, including three rabbis, were killed as they prayed in a bloody attack at the Kehilat Bnei Torah synagogue in Jerusalem. It is the latest act in a part of the world plagued by religious violence. “As horrible as these events are,” says Rabbi Brad Hirschfield, president of Clal and co-founder and executive editor of TheWisdomDaily.com,...
Read moreRabbi Brad Hirschfield on Removing Religious Holidays from the School Calendar
This week, the Board of Education in Mongomery County, Maryland voted 7 to 1 to eliminate references to all religious holidays in their published calendar for 2015-2016. They acted in response to a request from the community’s Muslim leaders that the Muslim holy day of Eid al-Adha be added alongside holidays such as Christmas, Easter, Yom Kippur and Rosh...
Read moreIs All Murder Equal? The Death of London McCabe
This week, Jillian McCabe threw her autistic 6-year-old son London from a bridge to his death. The murder has provoked many reactions, among them a surprising amount of sympathy for the mother, who was by many accounts overwhelmed by her son’s condition. “When our sense of mercy for one person is built on the message that the person they...
Read moreTo Quarantine or Not to Quarantine
The question of whether or not to quarantine those returning from West Africa who have been caring for people with Ebola is in the forefront of many people’s minds. Rabbi Brad Hirschfield, president of CLAL and co-founder and executive editor of TheWisdomDaily, reminds us that this is a question that has plagued man since Biblical times and that while...
Read moreIs Extreme Fitness Replacing Religion?
Extreme fitness programs have become a multi-billion dollar industry. What drives people to train like Navy SEALS? According to Brad Hirschfield, president of Clal and co-founder and executive editor of TheWisdomDaily, “longing for experience over what makes rational sense is a very real piece of what it means to be human”, and that longing for experience is reflected in...
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