Written by Jon Sadik, third-year psychobiology major and vice president of the Jewish Learning Initiative on Campus When preparing to give the Torah to the Jewish people, G-d gives Moses a curious warning: “Set a boundary for the people roundabout…
Taste of Torah: Purposeful Meandering
Written by Rabbi Aaron Lerner, senior Jewish educator of Hillel at UCLA Most Americans strive for efficiency. The popular Israeli-invented app Waze, for instance, provides many of us with a significantly reduced commuting time. In fact, just yesterday, it directed…
Taste of Torah: Let my people go! A new look at an old story
Written by Daniel Levine, third-year cognitive science major and gabbai of UCLA’s Jewish Learning Initiative on Campus Throughout the Exodus story, we are presented with multiple interactions between Moses and Pharaoh. On their surface, these meetings seem to comprise Moses…
Taste of Torah: You catch more flies with honey than with vinegar
Written by Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan, Jewish Learning Initiative on Campus. Heralded as a leader and revered in history as a paradigmatic hero, it’s hard to imagine that there was a time in Moses’ life marked with desperation. In this week’s…
Debate Table: Is Israel a Jewish State?
Is Israel a Jewish State? No. But it can be. by Ha’Am Contributor Groups like Bruins for Israel love to tout the idea that Jews, like all other national groups, deserve a state. That would be a good argument if…
Letter to the Editor
Dear Ha’Am, I appreciate your including my email in your news paper. I hope you will be gracious enough to print my response to staff writer Max Tessa’s commentary on that email (sic). The words ’villified’ , ‘alienated’ , ‘undermined’…
Taste of Torah: Basking in the glow
Written by Sharona Kaplan, Rebbetzin for Jewish Learning Initiative on Campus. What’s more emblematic of Chanukah than relaxing near a burning menorah and munching on latkes or doughnuts? The iconic menorah and the traditional oily foods reflect the ancient origins…
Taste of Torah: Cosmic wrestle-mania for the world’s soul
Written by Dovid Gurevich, rabbi of Chabad at UCLA. Three adventurers from France, Italy and Israel were captured by vicious Caribbean cannibals. In an attempt to be “civilized,” the cannibals offered each captive one last wish before being thrown into…
Taste of Torah: More compassionate than we knew
Written by Kerry Chaplin, rabbinic intern at Hillel at UCLA. My wife and I adopted an almost entirely black puppy recently. His name is Charlie (our last name is Chaplin). When we adopted Charlie, we steeled ourselves for the house…