Biblical debt jubilee may be the only answer

I thought this was really interesting - from the Daily Telegraph:

In the end, the only way out of all this global debt may prove to be a Biblical debt jubilee

article here.

Needed: A Miracle in Gaza

This morning, as I recited the Shirat Hayam (the Song of the Sea), I marveled at how the story describes the waters parting for the Israelites and then closing in again on the Egyptians:

The best of Pharaoh's officers are drowned in the Red Sea. The deep waters have covered them; they sank to the depths like a stone. (Exodus 15)

Israel survives, its enemies perish, and - with today's Gaza war in mind - only its enemies perish.

How desperately we need a miracle like that now.

There is a midrash that asks - Why did God put Israel in a situation where they were being chased by an army from behind them, and faced a sea in front of them? It answers simply - so that they would pray. Perhaps, in these tough times, Shirat Hayam can be that prayer.

Rav Mickey Rosen z"l: The Quest for Authenticity

I often daven on Friday nights at Yakar, and I have not mentioned the passing of Rav Mickey Rosen z"l, the Rav of the shul. It might be best for me to mention Rav Rosen's z"l book, about chasidut - The Quest for Authenticity: The Thought of Reb Simhah Bunim. I bought it for my dad erev Yom Kippur and only gave it to him Neilah time so I had a good chance to browse through it. Suffice to say that I think it will become considered required reading. Although I can't say that I knew Rav Rosen z"l personally, I do remember his glowing face the Friday night of the week the book went to market. I believe it was deeply personal for him, and a major accomplishment, and perhaps we should be thankful that he accomplished it in his lifetime.

The Value of Time

He who knows the value of time always has enough; not being able to lengthen it, he intensifies its value; and first of all, he does nothing to shorten it.

- A.G. Sertillanges, O.P.