Playing God or Saving Lives? Making Babies With Three Parents
This week the United Kingdom’s House of Commons approved a new fertility treatment that would incorporate DNA from three sources: a mother, a father and an egg donor. The treatment would be used in cases where children had a substantial chance of inheriting genetic diseases. But the treatment is controversial and raises issues of science and ethics. “Is...
Read moreSame 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 State of the Union: What Is Fair and Who Gets to Decide?
In his State of the Union Address this week, President Obama said “this country does best when everyone gets their fair shot, everyone does their fair share, and everyone plays by the same set of rules.” But according to Rabbi Brad Hirschfield, president of Clal and co-founder and executive editor of TheWisdomDaily.com, it may not be about what is...
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 moreRabbi Brad Hirschfield on Hanukkah: Burn Brighter, Be Stronger
Hanukkah is a reminder that “there is more to life than meets the eye” says Rabbi Brad Hirschfield, president of Clal and co-founder and executive editor of TheWisdomDaily.com. He’s devised a simple program to help each of us achieve miracles in our own lives.
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 moreEric Garner, Peaceful Protests and Leviticus
This week a grand jury on Staten Island, NY decided not to indict police officer Daniel Pantaleo in the death of 43-year-old Eric Garner. “Whatever you think,” says Brad Hirschfield, president of Clal and co-founder and executive director of TheWisdomDaily.com, “pick the guy you identify with more and remember the guy you identify with less is every bit as...
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,...
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