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by Ram ben Ze'ev A Language Abandoned Is a Covenant Forgotten It is a strange and unsettling reality that institutions once rooted in Torah now find themselves speaking a language that is no longer their own. Words that carried the weight of revelation, memory, and identity are quietly replaced—not by necessity, but by convenience. And with each substitution, something far deeper than vocabulary is lost. When an organisation replaces תהלים (Tehillim – Psalms) with a foreign term, or שמות...

by Ram ben Ze'ev A Nation That Stands Alone—and Therefore Endures There is a quiet error that has crept into the thinking of many within our Community: the belief that our safety, our continuity, or even our legitimacy depends upon the approval, sympathy, or protection of the Nations. It is an error not of politics, but of perspective. It reflects a forgetting—not of history alone, but of Torah itself. From the very beginning, our identity was never granted by the world, nor contingent upon...

by Ram ben Ze’ev Anger Without Torah Is Emptiness — A Community Adrift In recent weeks and months, Jews across the United Kingdom—and indeed across Europe and beyond—have found themselves confronting a steady and deeply unsettling rise in open hostility. Knife attacks in our streets, assaults on visibly Jewish individuals, threats against synagogues and schools, and the quiet, relentless drumbeat of intimidation have all become part of daily awareness. These are no longer isolated incidents;...

by Ram ben Ze’ev A Nation of Promises, A People Alone Another day. Another knife. Another Jew bleeding on a London pavement—this time in Golders Green. Two Jewish men, walking, doing nothing more provocative than existing, were targeted by a man already known to police, already marked by violence, already allowed to remain within a system that endlessly promises vigilance and delivers nothing of substance. And so the cycle repeats. Statements are issued. Condemnations are read. Cameras roll....

by Ram ben Ze’ev The Cost of Living Is Not the Cost of Fuel — It Is the Cost of the State People are in the streets of London protesting the cost of fuel, and they are right to be angry—but they are aiming at the symptom, not the cause. The narrative being pushed is familiar: global instability, tensions in the Middle East, supply pressures. These are convenient explanations. They shift blame outward. But the uncomfortable truth is far closer to home. The underlying cost of fuel itself is...

by Ram ben Ze’ev The Price of Misalignment: Memory, War, and the Illusion of Strength Today, Israel stands still. At the sound of the siren, the nation pauses in collective remembrance for those who were killed—soldiers of the Israel Defense Forces whose lives ended in battle. The numbers are heavy: 25,644 since 1860, leaving behind tens of thousands of bereaved families. Yet numbers, as vast as they are, do not capture truth. Words do. We say “fallen soldiers,” as though they stumbled. But...

by Ram ben Ze’ev Amen Is Not a Courtesy: Guarding the Sanctity of Blessing in the Age of Social Media In an age where every thought is published and every emotion is broadcast, sacred language has become cheap. Words that once emerged only in moments of אמת (emet – truth) and יראה (yirah – awe) are now scattered across comment sections and timelines without weight, without intent, and without understanding. One sees it constantly: “our prayers are with…”, “amen”, “pray to god”, written...

by Ram ben Ze'ev When Torah Loses Its Weight: The Lesson of Rabbi Akiva’s Students There are moments in our history that are not merely tragedies, but warnings—clear, enduring, and uncomfortable. The death of the תלמידים (talmidim – students) of Rabbi Akiva during the days of ספירת העומר (Sefirat HaOmer – counting of the Omer) is one of them. We mark it with restraint, with the absence of celebration, with customs of mourning. But if we leave it there, we have misunderstood it. The Torah...

by Ram ben Ze'ev Rabbi Yissachar Shlomo Teichtal זצ״ל There are moments in Jewish history when a voice emerges that cannot be ignored. Not because it is new, but because it reveals what was always present in the Torah yet left unheeded . Rabbi Yissachar Shlomo Teichtal זצ״ל was such a voice—a Rav who did not merely teach, but who transformed his own understanding in the face of reality, and in doing so, called כלל ישראל (Klal Yisrael – the collective of Israel) to account. Rabbi Teichtal was...

by Ram ben Ze’ev Shoah, Nissan, and the Memory the Nations Impose There are moments in the life of our people when silence is appropriate, and there are moments when it is necessary to speak with clarity. I was not going to write on the day itself, because the day—יום הזכרון לשואה ולגבורה (Yom HaZikaron LaShoah VeLaGevurah – Day of Remembrance for the Shoah and the Heroism)—deserves dignity, not distraction. But there are times when remaining silent serves no purpose, and this is one of them....

by Ram ben Ze’ev Tzedakah: Justice, Not Performance There is a profound difference between what the world calls “charity” and what the Torah calls צדקה (tzedakah – righteousness, justice). The difference is not semantic; it is foundational. One is rooted in ego. The other in truth. The nations speak of charity as an act of kindness. It is optional, generous, even admirable. A person gives because he chooses to give, because he feels compassion, or, increasingly in our age, because he wishes...

by Ram ben Ze’ev The Lamb, The Stars, and the Illusion of Power The Torah in שמות (Shemot) commands something extraordinary on the eve of redemption: each household was to take a lamb on the tenth of Nissan, keep it for several days, and then slaughter it on the fourteenth, placing its blood upon the doorposts. This was not a quiet act. It was deliberate, visible, and defiant. To understand this moment, we must understand the world in which it occurred. Egypt was not merely a political...

by Ram ben Ze’ev Pesach, Not “Passover”: The Distortion of a Divine Act The word matters. It shapes thought, and thought shapes belief. When the Nations refer to פסח (Pesach – protection, sparing, hovering), they reduce it to “Passover,” a term that strips the depth, the intention, and the reality of what occurred. This is not a harmless translation. It is a distortion. The progression is clear and revealing: the Hebrew פסח expresses an active Divine guarding, a presence that shields and...

by Ram ben Ze’ev Ki Tetze: When Israel Goes Out to War — Alignment, Not Assumption The words כי תצא (Ki Tetze – when you go out) open with precision. They do not command war; they describe it. They assume that man—individually and nationally—will choose to step into conflict. The verse states: כי תצא למלחמה על איביך — when you go out to war against your enemies. The initiative is human. The judgment that follows is Divine. The Holy Zohar teaches that this “going out” is not merely physical...

by Ram ben Ze’ev Shabbat HaGadol: The Shabbat of Greatness Before Redemption This Shabbat is known as שבת הגדול (Shabbat HaGadol – the Great Shabbat), the final Shabbat before פסח (Pesach – the Festival of Redemption), and it carries a weight and significance far beyond its name. For me, it also carries something deeply personal, as I was born on this very Shabbat—linking my own beginning, in some small way, to this moment of preparation before redemption. The term “HaGadol” does not merely...

by Ram ben Ze’ev The United Nations and the Politics of Historical Guilt The United Nations General Assembly has adopted a resolution declaring the transatlantic slave trade to be the “gravest crime against humanity.” While the horrors of slavery are undeniable and no moral person today would defend such a practice, the resolution itself reveals more about the modern political agenda of the United Nations than it does about historical reality. Before the vote, the United States...

by Ram ben Ze'ev The Problem with the Term “Orthodox” in Judaism The term “Orthodox,” so commonly used today to describe traditional Jews, is not a Hebrew word and does not originate from Jewish sources. Rather, it comes from the Ancient Greek word orthodoxos , meaning “correct belief” or “right opinion.” The word itself is formed from two Greek roots: orthos , meaning “straight,” “right,” or “true,” and doxa , meaning “opinion,” “belief,” or “praise.” From a Jewish standpoint, this already...

by Ram ben Ze’ev When the Argument Cannot Be Answered, Attack the Man In politics, one of the oldest tactics is also one of the most revealing. When a leader cannot answer an argument, the response is often not to address the facts but to destroy the credibility of the person who raised them. That is precisely what we are seeing now. Joe Kent did something that senior officials rarely do: he resigned his position on principle. As Director of the National Counterterrorism Center, he stated...

by Ram ben Ze’ev You Cannot Legislate Hatred Out of the Human Heart A recent interview published yesterday between Tucker Carlson and Glenn Greenwald begins with a familiar complaint. Both men lament the growing number of laws being enacted in various countries—among them the United States and Australia—that seek to criminalise negative or derogatory speech about Israel or about Jews. The discussion is not surprising coming from Carlson. His public commentary over the past several years has...

מאת רם בן זאב כאשר אדם מאמין שאינו נותן דין וחשבון לאיש תופעה מוזרה של העידן המודרני היא האדם שמצהיר בגאווה כי הוא אינו מאמין בשום דבר נעלה ממנו עצמו, ובכל זאת מצפה שיבטחו בו בכל הדברים החשובים ביותר בחיים. ראיתי תיאור פרופיל בחשבון ברשת חברתית של אדם יהודי בישראל המספר לעולם כי הוא בעל ואב. אין אלו תארים קטנים. לפי הבנת התורה את החיים, אלו מן האחריות החמורות ביותר שאדם יכול לשאת. בעל מופקד על רווחתה, כבודה ובטחונה של אשתו. אב מופקד על עיצוב הנשמות, על הכיוון המוסרי של ילדיו, ועל הדוגמה שממנה...

by Ram ben Ze'ev When a Man Believes He Answers to No One A curious phenomenon of the modern age is the man who proudly declares that he believes in nothing higher than himself, and yet expects to be trusted with everything that matters most in life. I saw a profile description on a social media account for a Jewish man in Israel who tells the world that he is a husband and a father. These are not small titles. In the Torah understanding of life, they are among the most serious...

מאת רם בן זאב מלחמה זו נבחרה כיהודי, כאמריקאי וכאדם התומך בישראל בכל לבו, אני כותב זאת ללא התנצלות: אינני שופך דמעה על איראן. המשטר בטהרן בילה עשרות שנים באיומים על ישראל, במימון טרור ובהקמת רשת אזורית המוקדשת לשפיכות דמים יהודית. אילו איראן הייתה פותחת במתקפה בלתי־מוצדקת על ישראל, הייתי תומך בהשמדת יכולתה הצבאית ללא היסוס. אך זה איננו המצב. מה שאני מתנגד לו בתוקף, וללא הסתייגות, הוא הניסיון של ישראל וארצות הברית להלביש על המלחמה הזאת תדמית של פעולה הגנתית, מהוססת או בלתי־נמנעת מבחינה מוסרית....

by Ram ben Ze'ev This War Was Chosen As a Jew, an American, and a fervent supporter of Israel, I write this without apology: I shed no tears for Iran. The regime in Tehran has spent decades threatening Israel, funding terror, and building a regional network dedicated to Jewish bloodshed. If Iran were to launch an unprovoked attack on Israel, I would support the destruction of its military capacity without hesitation. But that is not what this is. What I object to, strongly and without...

מאת רם בן זאב גשר רחוק מדי: כאשר אסטרטגיה הופכת לפזיזות כיהודי וכמי שמעמיד את ישראל בראש סדר העדיפויות, אינני מזיל דמעה על ההרס באיראן. המשטר בטהראן הקדיש עשרות שנים למימון טרור, לאיומים על השמדת ישראל, ולבניית רשת אזורית של שלוחים המוקדשים למותם של יהודים. אילו איראן הייתה פותחת במתקפה ישירה על ישראל, הייתי תומך בהשמדתו המלאה של המשטר ובפירוק יכולתו הצבאית ללא היסוס. לאומה יש זכות מוחלטת להגן על עצמה, וישראל לעולם אינה צריכה להתנצל על עצם הישרדותה. עם זאת, לעיקרון הזה יש שני צדדים. הגנה היא...

by Ram ben Ze'ev A Bridge Too Far: When Strategy Becomes Recklessness As a Jew and someone who places Israel first, I do not shed a tear over the destruction in Iran. The regime in Tehran has spent decades funding terror, threatening Israel with annihilation, and building a regional network of proxies dedicated to Jewish death. If Iran were to launch a direct attack on Israel, I would support the complete destruction of the regime and the dismantling of its military capacity without...

מאת רם בן זאב כאשר אומה שוכחת את בריתה לאורך ההיסטוריה הארוכה שלנו, העם היהודי ניצב מול אויבים בכל דור. אימפריות קמו עלינו, צבאות צעדו נגדנו, ושליטים ביקשו למחוק אותנו מעל פני האדמה. אך התורה מלמדת דבר מה שההיסטוריה מאשרת שוב ושוב: הסכנה הגדולה ביותר שלנו מעולם לא הייתה האומות לבדן, אלא מה שקורה כאשר אנו שוכחים מי אנחנו. מן ההתחלה, העם היהודי לא נוצר פשוט כעוד אומה. בהר סיני נכנסנו לברית עם G-D. ברית זו הגדירה אותנו. היא הבדילה אותנו מן האומות. היא קבעה שהישרדותנו לא תהיה תלויה רק בכוח, בשטח...

by Ram ben Ze'ev When a Nation Forgets Its Covenant Throughout our long history, the Jewish people have faced enemies in every generation. Empires have risen against us, armies have marched against us, and rulers have sought to erase us from the earth. Yet the Torah teaches something that history repeatedly confirms: our greatest danger has never been the nations alone, but what happens when we forget who we are . From the beginning, the Jewish people were not created simply as another...

by Ram ben Ze'ev The Covenant Is Everything Judaism is often misunderstood as a system of strict rules, a long list of obligations that appear rigid or unforgiving. From the outside, it may seem as though the relationship between the Jewish people and G-D is “all or nothing.” Yet this phrase, when properly understood, reveals something far more beautiful. Judaism is not merely a list of commandments; it is a framework for a living relationship with G-D and with the people around us. It...

by Ram ben Ze’ev When Power Forgets Torah Torah does not teach weakness. It does not demand that Jews stand idle while enemies seek their destruction. On the contrary, Jewish law recognises the obligation of self-defence. When a person comes to kill you, the principle is clear: rise and stop him first. Throughout history the Jewish people have fought when necessary, and when survival required strength. Our tradition teaches: הבא להרגך השכם להרגו — “If someone comes to kill you, rise early and...

by Ram ben Ze'ev When the Wolf Howls This parable is not original. It has been handed down through the ages, yet its message is even more important today than it was when it was first told. A wolf once fell into a deep vat of blue dye beside a dyer’s hut. When he climbed out, his fur shone with a colour no animal had ever seen in the forest. The other creatures fled from him in fear. The wolf realised what had happened and stood proudly upon a rock. Then he spoke with authority and said, “Do...

by Ram ben Ze'ev Opening Our Eyes to the Hidden Miracles The Torah records moments when the hand of G-D was unmistakable: the Sea of Reeds split, manna fell from heaven, and fire descended from above. These events are often called נס גלוי (nes galui – revealed miracle). They shattered the illusion that the world operates independently of its Creator. Yet our sages also speak of another kind of miracle, one that fills our lives every day: נס נסתר (nes nistar – hidden miracle). A hidden miracle...

by Ram ben Ze’ev Why Now? Blood, Sovereignty and the Unanswered Question Yesterday I wrote that “ Gone are the days when Jews kneel before greater powers .” I meant every word. Israel is not a vassal state. We do not require Washington, Brussels or London to decide when Jewish blood is at risk. If our leaders believe an existential threat looms, they not only have the sovereign right to act — they have the sovereign responsibility. But sovereignty cuts both ways. It grants the power to...

by Ram ben Ze'ev The Convenience of Forgetting History does not whisper. It records. Every generation eventually discovers that the previous one was not told the whole truth. Files are unsealed. Minutes are published. Private memoranda become public record. What was once described as “necessary,” “urgent,” or “for the greater good” is revealed, years later, to have been partial, selective, or simply untrue . Legislation was sold as protection but concealed its cost. Spending was justified as...

by Ram ben Ze’ev When the King’s Soldiers Arrive A king once sent his army to a distant village. The soldiers wore the king’s uniform, bore his insignia, and carried his authority. Yet their message was strange: they whispered of revolt. They urged the villagers to turn against the very king whose banner they carried. The villagers were loyal. Some drew their swords and fought. Some prevailed. Others stumbled, regrouped, and fought again. Day after day, skirmish after skirmish. They proved...

by Ram ben Ze’ev The Nobel Delusion and the Price of Blood For years, President Donald Trump nursed a grievance. The Nobel Committee refused to crown him as the architect of peace he so eagerly proclaimed himself to be. Throughout his first term, during the 2020 campaign, throughout 2024, and right up until the Committee awarded the Nobel Peace Prize to Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado—who symbolically handed it to him—he spoke incessantly of the wars he stopped and the...

by Ram ben Ze'ev Not Us — Or Have We Forgotten? In October 2023, when our brothers and sisters were butchered, burned, kidnapped and desecrated, we watched in horror not only at the cruelty of the murderers but at the reaction of the world. In city after city, crowds gathered to celebrate. Sweets were handed out in the streets. Baklava was distributed as though the slaughter of Jews were a wedding feast. Social media filled with praise for barbarism. We were rightly outraged. We said: this is...

by Ram ben Ze’ev Chaos Before Control: Why Organisational Incompetence Matters Imagine giving the Reform Party control of the country. Pause for a moment and consider that seriously. We already have a group of incompetents in charge. The question is not whether we are dissatisfied — many are. The question is whether replacing one strain of dysfunction with another is progress. I have been a member of Reform since 2021. Recently, I re-joined formally and agreed to pay my membership fees...

by Ram ben Ze’ev Bitcoin at $65,500: Cycles, Confidence, and the Question of Finality Bitcoin currently trades at $65,500. That number must be understood in context. In October 2025, Bitcoin reached an all-time high of $126,098. From that peak, the present price represents a drawdown of roughly 48%. That is not catastrophic by historical standards — but it is significant . Bitcoin has established a pattern across prior cycles: dramatic advances followed by severe corrections. Historically,...

by Ram ben Ze’ev Mazel Is Not Luck: A Call to Reject Modern Idolatry On 7 November 2024, I wrote about “ Mazel, Divine Flow, and Trust in HaShem .” It is necessary to return to that subject, because the confusion has not diminished. If anything, it has deepened. The phrase “Mazel Tov” is still casually translated as “Good luck,” as though Judaism endorses randomness, cosmic coincidence, or the mechanical alignment of stars. It does not. It never has. Mazel is not luck. Mazel is flow. The...

by Ram ben Ze’ev From Screens to Souls: Reclaiming Our Emotional Priorities In an age of constant connectivity, many people find themselves grieving public figures as though they had lost a member of their own household. Social media feeds fill with tears, tributes, and declarations of personal loss. Yet in truth, the person mourned never knew their names, never sat at their table, never shared a moment of genuine life with them. This is not shared life . It is confusion between image and...

מאת רם בן זאב חייזר קורא תנ״ך בדרכו לכדור הארץ מחזור חדשות אמריקאי יכול להפוך אמירה אגבית ל"גילוי" בתוך פחות משעה, והימים האחרונים היו מקרה מבחן מושלם. ברק אובמה השמיע הערה שנשמעה כ"אישור", הנשיא טראמפ הגיב כאילו נחצו גבולות מסווגים, ואז הסיפור הסלים לדיבורים על שחרור תיקים. לפני ששואלים מה משמעות הדבר עבור התורה, ראוי לומר בפשטות שאין בכך תחליף לראיות, ואין להתייחס לכך כתיאולוגיה. אמירה פוליטית איננה ממצא מדעי. נשיא לשעבר אינו מחויב לדייק, ולנשיא מכהן יש כל תמריץ לשלוט בכותרות. גם כאשר...

by Ram ben Ze'ev Alien Reading Tanakh Enroute to Earth An American news-cycle can turn a throwaway line into a “revelation” in under an hour, and the past few days have been a perfect case-study. Barack Obama made a remark that sounded like “confirmation”, President Trump reacted as though classified boundaries had been crossed, and then the story escalated into talk of releasing files. Before anyone asks what this means for Torah, it is worth saying plainly that none of this is a substitute...

by Ram ben Ze'ev The Obligation to Read the Megillah: Night and Day When the month of אדר (Adar – joy-filled month) arrives, our service of G-D reaches its crescendo in the reading of the מגילה (Megillah – Scroll of Esther). This is not a custom, nor a sentimental commemoration. It is a binding obligation upon every member of כלל ישראל (Klal Yisrael – the Jewish nation): men and women alike must hear the Megillah twice — once at night and once again by day. The source of this dual reading is...

by Ram ben Ze’ev G-D Is Not a “Jewish Word” — And That Is Precisely the Point A recent article published by Chabad raises the question of whether “G-D” is a Jewish word. The answer, of course, is no. It is English. And that simple fact clarifies far more than it complicates. The Torah was not given in English. The Holy One, blessed be He, revealed Himself through the language of קדש (kodesh – holiness), through names such as אל (El – Mighty One), אלוה (Eloah – G-D), אלקים (Elohim –...

by Ram ben Ze'ev Marc Chagall painted the original gouache/oil painting Lot's Daughters (also known as Loth et ses filles) around 1931 in France The account in בראשית (Bereshit) 19:26–38 is not written to shock us. It is written to warn us. Lot was not saved because he was righteous. The Torah states clearly that אלקים (Elokim – G-D as Judge) remembered Avraham and removed Lot from the upheaval. His rescue was in the merit of Avraham. That detail is not incidental; it is central. Lot lived in...

by Ram ben Ze’ev When Grief Becomes Content The reported kidnapping and possible murder of Nancy Guthrie—an elderly woman and the mother of a well-known journalist—has once again revealed something deeply troubling about modern society. Not only the crime itself, but the reaction to it. Within hours of such events, microphones appear. Cameras are raised. Podcasters assemble. Individuals with nothing more than a smartphone and a social-media account declare themselves “press,” and proceed to...

by Ram ben Ze'ev Faithful Delivery, Not Improvement The Talmud teaches with remarkable restraint. It does not thunder or dramatise; it places a mirror before the reader and waits. In Menachot 30a–b, that mirror is held up through a simple parable: a messenger entrusted with a sealed letter from a king decides to improve it. His intention may even be kind. Yet the recipient returns the letter unopened, recognising immediately that this is not the king’s voice. The lesson is devastating in its...

by Ram ben Ze'ev The Silent Seller: How Bitcoin ETFs Turn Fear into Forced Liquidation The greatest risk in Bitcoin today is not volatility. It is not regulation. It is not even leverage. The real danger sits quietly inside the structure of Bitcoin ETFs, largely unseen by retail investors and deliberately softened by institutional marketing. That danger is the absence of human judgment at the moment selling matters most. When Bitcoin is held directly, the decision to sell is personal. It...

by Ram ben Ze'ev When Quotes Are Lies: A Modern Habit of Borrowed Authority In recent days, following the publication of my article Putting Words into G-D’s Mouth Is Not Torah , I began asking a simple question about a series of widely shared quotations attributed to long-dead thinkers, writers, and public figures. These quotes are routinely presented as “deep,” “timeless,” and “profound,” and they circulate endlessly across social media, stripped of context and wrapped in borrowed...

by Ram ben Ze'ev Putting Words into G-D’s Mouth Is Not Torah Clarity demands that we state an uncomfortable truth . Much of what is written, circulated, translated, and shared today in the name of Torah is not Torah at all. It is interpretation layered with agenda, language imported from foreign belief systems, and sentiment designed to appeal emotionally rather than submit faithfully to the word of G-D. Concern arises when prayers, commentaries, and even respected compilations are altered...

by Ram ben Ze'ev The Addiction to Outrage and the Strengthening of Evil We are living in an age where people increasingly feel compelled to involve themselves in events that have no direct bearing on their lives, no capacity for meaningful influence, and no avenue for repair or responsibility. A tragedy occurs on the other side of the world and, within minutes, countless individuals absorb it emotionally, comment upon it, argue about it, repost it, and carry it with them as though it were...

by Ram ben Ze’ev The Judeo-Christian Fiction: Stop Claiming What Is Not Yours In January 2020 I wrote Judeo-Christian Divide to address a growing falsehood: the claim that Judaism and Christianity share a common religious foundation. In the years since, that falsehood has not diminished. It has intensified. Today, ever more voices from foreign belief systems insist on associating themselves with Jews, with Israel, and with Judaism itself, as though repetition might somehow transform...

by Ram ben Ze’ev Speculation Is Not Strategy: Ethereum, Bitcoin, and the Cost of Belief At the time of writing, Ethereum trades at approximately $2,300 and Bitcoin at approximately $77,800. Those numbers matter not because they are low or high in absolute terms, but because they sit far below the peaks that were loudly promoted as mere stepping stones to something greater. In the world of digital assets, belief has repeatedly been sold as strategy, and speculation dressed up as inevitability....

by Ram ben Ze'ev When Jews Are Told to Be Quiet There is a familiar tactic that surfaces whenever Jews speak plainly in the language of Torah: the warning. It is often dressed up as concern, civility, or social responsibility, but its meaning is unmistakable. If you say this out loud, people will hate you more. This is not a defence of Jews. It is an attempt to manage Jews. When a non-Jew responds to a Torah-based statement by suggesting that Jewish clarity might “lead to antisemitism,” the...

by Ram ben Ze'ev The “80% Stayed in Egypt” Fallacy — How a Midrash Became a Weapon Against Torah In recent years, a claim has circulated widely — often repeated with confidence and moral certainty — that “80% of the Jews stayed in Egypt,” usually followed by the line: “Even slavery can feel safe when it’s all you know.” This narrative is increasingly promoted by Christian and post-Christian commentators, including followers of what I will call HeyZeus theology , who weaponise Jewish texts to...

by Ram ben Ze’ev The Age of Reaction and the Erosion of Responsibility We live in an age in which reaction has replaced reflection, and commentary has displaced understanding. A person no longer needs training, experience, or accountability to present themselves as a “journalist” or “commentator.” A camera, a microphone, and a YouTube account are now sufficient credentials. From this has emerged a dominant genre of modern media: the so-called “reaction video.” The format is familiar and...

by Ram ben Ze’ev When a Yeshiva Forgets What It Is There are moments when silence becomes complicity. This is one of them. The recent appointment of a non-Jew, openly homosexual public figure as a Professor of Practice at Yeshiva University is not merely ill-judged. It is symptomatic of a deeper crisis: a Jewish institution no longer certain of what it is, whom it serves, or to whom it owes allegiance. A yeshiva is not a university with kosher branding. A yeshiva is a בית מדרש (Beit Midrash...

מאת רם בן זאב שתיקה כריבונות: ארבע התגובות של התניא והמשמעת שנשכחה מאתנו בשנים האחרונות כתבתי שוב ושוב על לשון הרע בצורתה המודרנית: הפצה מהירה, רשלנית ולעיתים מצטדקת של רוע באמצעות האינטרנט. התנהגות זו מוצגת לא פעם כדאגה, מודעות, עיתונאות או אפילו אחריות מוסרית. אך המסורה שלנו מעולם לא מדדה דיבור לפי כוונה בלבד. היא מדדה אותו לפי צורך, תוצאה והשפעה רוחנית. השאלות מעולם לא היו רק ״האם זה אמת״, אלא גם ״האם זה נחוץ״ ו״האם זה בונה או הורס״. כאשר התשובה אינה כן מוחלט לשלושתן, שתיקה אינה רק מותרת;...

by Ram ben Ze’ev Silence as Sovereignty: The Four Responses of the Tanya and the Discipline We Have Forgotten In recent years, I have written repeatedly about לשון הרע (lashon hara — harmful or degrading speech about another, even when true ) in its modern form: the rapid, careless, and often self-justifying spread of evil through the Internet. Much of this behaviour presents itself as concern, awareness, journalism, or even moral responsibility . Yet our מסורה (mesorah — the received...

by Ram ben Ze'ev “An Orthodox Gay Shul” Is a Contradiction — And Israel Must Not Normalise It There is a modern habit of attaching holy words to unholy ideas in order to neutralise criticism. The Nations have done this to us for centuries: they rename, reframe, soften, and then demand we accept their distortion as “progress.” And now, in our own day, Jews have begun doing it to themselves — taking words that belong to Torah, using them as branding, and then expecting the ציבור (tzibbur,...

by Ram ben Ze'ev When Death Becomes Theatre: The Idolatry of Public Praise The modern world has developed a ritual which it treats as sacred: the instant public tribute. A famous person dies, and within minutes a chorus begins. Social media floods with accolades, praise, affectionate “rememberings,” and grand pronouncements, as though death itself confers holiness — as though the grave has the power to sanctify a life that was never virtuous. Men who were alive yesterday as complicated,...

by Ram ben Ze'ev G-D Does Not Have a “Wife”: The Academic Reinvention of Idolatry There is a particular kind of modern arrogance that dresses itself in a tweed jacket, calls itself “historical inquiry,” and then proceeds to vandalise holiness with the confidence of a man who has never stood in awe of anything. We see it today in the increasing number of so-called historians who suggest — with a smirk disguised as scholarship — that G-D had a “wife,” that she was worshipped in the Temple,...

by Ram ben Ze'ev Caring for Parents, Dwelling in the Land, and the Cost of Language Creep An English reader encountering the phrase “honouring one’s parents” is already standing on unstable ground. The Hebrew commandment is not about ceremonial honour, reverence, or emotional esteem. It is about responsibility, provision, and care. The Torah speaks in the language of action, not sentiment. When we translate this obligation as “honour,” we unintentionally soften it, moralise it, and detach it...

by Ram ben Ze’ev America First—or Empire First? Trump’s Venezuelan Rubicon Full Disclosure I write this as a long-time supporter of President Donald J. Trump. I voted for him in 2016, again in 2020, and once more in 2024. My support has always been grounded in his rejection of endless wars, globalist interventionism, and the idea that America should act as the world’s policeman. Precisely because of that support, what follows matters. If the future leadership of the Republican Party—whether...

by Ram ben Ze'ev When Protection Is Withdrawn: The Halakhic Meaning of the Tenth of Tevet The fast of the Tenth of Tevet is not a historical reenactment nor a gesture of mourning directed outward. From a halakhic perspective, it is an inward act, rooted in responsibility rather than accusation. The siege of Jerusalem that began on this day is remembered not because of the cruelty of our enemies, but because of what was revealed about ourselves when Divine protection was withdrawn. This...

by Ram ben Ze’ev Christmas and the Invention of a Birth Date Christmas is presented to the world as a celebration of a birth said to have taken place on 25 December. That claim is repeated so often that it is assumed to be historical fact. Yet when examined carefully—using the very text relied upon by its proponents, alongside historical, agricultural, astronomical, and Jewish considerations—the December birth narrative collapses entirely. What remains is not history, but construction. The...

by Ram ben Ze'ev The Illusion of Profit: Why Strategy’s Bitcoin ‘Gains’ Cannot Be Realised There is a dangerous misunderstanding spreading among retail investors, and it centres on one word: profit . In recent months, Strategy’s public filings and presentations have increasingly framed Bitcoin price movements in terms of operating income, net income, and earnings per share. To the untrained eye, this implies something intuitive and reassuring: that Strategy is generating profits when Bitcoin...

by Ram ben Ze’ev When Words Are Corrupted, Meaning Is Lost Language is not a cosmetic choice in Judaism. Language is the vessel of truth. The Torah does not merely describe reality; it creates it. G-D spoke, and the world came into being. When we alter the words, we alter the world they shape. Today, our message is in crisis, not because Jews have forgotten how to speak, but because we have grown careless about what we speak. Even within Jewish publishing houses, educational institutions,...

by Ram ben Ze’ev Hanukkhia I have written at length about assimilation within the Jewish Community, both within Israel and throughout the Diaspora. Language is never neutral. Accents, borrowed phrases, and careless substitutions are the first steps a person takes when trying to blend in, to avoid standing out, to be accepted. This subject has reared its head again because we are in the midst of Hanukkah. As we celebrate the festival and light a growing number of candles each night on our...

by Ram ben Ze’ev A Dangerous Retreat: Why Reclassifying Cannabis Is a Profound Mistake Yesterday, President Donald Trump signed an Executive Order directing the United States Attorney General to move cannabis from Schedule I to Schedule III under federal law, placing it in the same regulatory category as drugs such as Tylenol with codeine. As a lifelong Republican, a committed GOP voter, and someone who proudly supported President Trump in 2016, 2020, and 2024, I write this with genuine...

by Ram ben Ze’ev When Strategy Becomes Constraint: The Risk Beneath Strategy’s Bitcoin Reserve (Source @ strategy ) Strategy (NASDAQ: MSTR ) has spent the last five years presenting its Bitcoin treasury policy as a masterstroke of conviction: relentless, quarterly accumulation, regardless of price, with Bitcoin elevated from a speculative asset to a corporate reserve. On the surface, the numbers are impressive. More than 670,000 BTC acquired across 90 separate purchases since 2020,...

by Ram ben Ze’ev When Light Is Targeted We are confronted once again with a moment that defies words and yet demands them. The Jewish Community has gathered, as we are commanded, in public, with dignity and courage, to praise G-D and to bring light into a world that too often prefers darkness. At a Hanukkah gathering in Bondi Beach, Australia, where families and communal leaders assembled to light the first night’s candle, that light was targeted. Reports speak of murder and injury, of lives...

by Ram ben Ze'ev Hanukkah: Lighting Truth in a World That Forgets Light As we prepare once again to enter the days of Hanukkah, beginning on כ״ה כסלו (25 Kislev) — this year commencing at sundown on Sunday, 14 December 2025 — we are not merely approaching a festival of memory, but a living commandment: to kindle light, night by night, for eight days, and to bring light into the world as our mandate by G-D. Hanukkah is the time when we, the Jewish people, actively fulfil our role to bring...

by Ram ben Ze'ev The War on Words: How the Nations Distort Our Holiest Language Language is not neutral. For ישראל, it is the vessel through which קדושה enters the world. When the nations take our sacred words, reshape them, and hand them back to us with their meaning hollowed out, something essential is lost. Holiness becomes obscured, and the identity of our people is quietly eroded. Few examples reveal this more starkly than the distortion of שבת (Shabbat, rest) into the Christian term...

מאת רם בן זאב המלכודת מבפנים: עבודה זרה בארצנו וההשלכות שאיננו מוכנים לראות ישראל ניצבת היום בצומת שאינו מוגדר על ידי גבולות או פוליטיקה, אלא על ידי בהירות רוחנית. אנו עומדים מול אויבים מכל עבר, ובכל זאת הסכנה הגדולה ביותר אינה חיצונית. היא הסכנה שאפשרנו ואף קיבלנו לתוך שערינו. אנו מצווים על ידי ה׳ בדקדוק מוחלט. בשמות כג:לג התורה אומרת: לא ישבו בארצך פן יחטיאו אתך לי כי תעבד את אלהיהם כי יהיה לך למוקש זה איננו שיר. זו הלכה. זו אזהרה. זו נבואה. וזו המציאות. ישראל כיום מוצפת בכל צורה של עבודה...

by Ram ben Ze'ev The Snare Within: Idolatry in Our Land and the Consequences We Refuse to See Israel stands today at a crossroads not defined by borders or politics, but by spiritual clarity. We face enemies on every side, and yet the greatest danger is not external. It is the one we have permitted—welcomed, even—within our own gates. We are commanded by G-D with absolute precision. In שמות (Shemot) 23:33 the Torah states: לא ישבו בארצך פן יחטיאו אתך לי כי תעבד את אלהיהם כי יהיה לך למוקש...

by Ram ben Ze’ev The Digital Trap: Why Bitcoin May Be the Greatest Financial Ambush of Our Time The world has been conditioned to view Bitcoin as a revolutionary force—an escape hatch from the dominance of the U.S. dollar, a decentralised answer to global inflation, and a hedge against political instability. Yet a growing body of evidence suggests that Bitcoin may be functioning not as liberation, but as the most sophisticated instrument ever designed for America to export its unsustainable...

by Ram ben Ze’ev The Illusion of Stability: Why Strategy’s Bitcoin Model Is Cracking What happens when a company becomes so deeply committed to its core asset that it can no longer step away from it without causing its own collapse? That is the question now facing Strategy, and the answer is neither flattering nor encouraging. The company has become synonymous with its Bitcoin reserves. As of this writing, Bitcoin is trading around $86,700 per coin, and Strategy sits on a massive holding of...

by Ram ben Ze’ev Zahwa Arafat There is a great myth that has been sold to the world for decades – that a so-called Palestinian national identity, rooted in ancient history, culture, and land, has always existed and that this identity was somehow stolen. This myth did not develop organically. It was crafted, marketed, packaged, and distributed as propaganda by one Egyptian-born man: Mohammed Abdel Rahman Abdel Raouf Arafat al-Qudwa al-Husseini, later known by the more famous alias, Yasser...

by Ram ben Ze'ev Herzog Park and the Erasure of Irish Jewish Memory Something deeply unsettling happened in Dublin this week. Dublin City Council decided that Herzog Park should be renamed. The stated reason is to honour an Arab girl from Gaza, Hind Rajab, whose death in the aftermath of the terrorist invasion of Israel, has been widely publicised. That this girl was killed is not in dispute. What is in dispute is the speed with which her story was weaponised to overwrite the memory of a man...

by Ram ben Ze'ev The Rise and Fall of DOGE: When Politics, Ego, and Economics Collide It was not so long ago that President Donald Trump and his then-ally Elon Musk stood side by side, celebrating what they branded as the Department of Government Efficiency — DOGE — a cheeky nod to Musk’s obsession with Dogecoin and his habit of amplifying jokes until they become headlines. For a time, the two men were perfectly matched: each revelled in spectacle, each thrived on disruption, and each saw in...

by Ram ben Ze’ev When the Tower Falls – Bitcoin’s Collapse and the Reckoning Ahead for Strategy Bitcoin’s recent freefall marks one of the most dramatic asset reversals in modern financial history. Only days ago, Bitcoin hovered near £126,198 per coin — a level hailed as proof that digital scarcity had conquered traditional economic gravity. Today it trades around $80,915, a decline of more than $45,000 per BTC. This is not a correction; this is a structural rupture. Whales have begun...

by Ram ben Ze'ev When Companies Flee Delaware to Escape Accountability For decades, Delaware has been the global centre of corporate law. Companies incorporate there because its legal framework is predictable, its courts are sophisticated, and its governance standards are trusted by both institutional and retail investors. The Delaware Court of Chancery, in particular, has built its reputation on transparency, expertise, and investor protection. That stability is a feature , not a...

by Ram ben Ze’ev The Torah Belongs to Humanity When the Gemara in שבת (Shabbat) 89a recounts the dialogue between the ministering angels and the Holy One, blessed be He, about whether the Torah should be given to humankind, the angels object, saying, “What is man that You should remember him?” questioning why such a sacred gift should be entrusted to mortals. Moshe does not answer by claiming that the Torah belongs exclusively to the Jewish people, but rather by distinguishing between the...

by Ram ben Ze'ev When Goodness Becomes Performance Recently, I listened to a man speak. His words made sense, and though I did not agree with everything he professed, there was merit in much of what he said — until he began to tell a story. It was about how he had helped someone in need. In that instant, all the good I had heard dissolved. What might have been inspiring turned hollow through self-promotion. The message was lost, and with it, any chance for his future words to reach me. There...

by Ram ben Ze’ev Hidden Sparks: The Eternal Promise of the Bnei Anousim Throughout Jewish history, the story of the Bnei Anousim (בני אנוסים) —the descendants of Jews forced to convert under threat of death or persecution—stands as one of the most moving testaments to the indestructibility of the Jewish soul. From the horrors of the Inquisition to the quiet reawakening of identity in our own generation, the journey of the Bnei Anousim is not merely a story of loss and return; it is a living...

by Ram ben Ze'ev “Tell No One — for the One who matters already knows.” -- Ram ben Ze'ev There was a time when goodness needed no announcement. A person’s deed spoke for itself; a quiet act of kindness was its own testimony. But today, we live in an age where every act, no matter how noble, must be photographed, posted, and praised. Even our national kindness — the good that Israel does for others — is too often paraded before the Nations. We watch as government representatives and public...

by Ram ben Ze'ev The Tragedy of Aher: The Sage Who Could Not Return He was once among the greatest minds of his generation — brilliant, respected, steeped in Torah and philosophy alike. Yet he would become known not by his name, but by his absence from it. The Sages no longer called him Elisha ben Abuyah ; they called him Aher — “the Other.” Elisha was born into privilege in Jerusalem during the late Second Temple period. His father, Abuyah, was a wealthy and influential man who admired Torah...

by Ram ben Ze’ev The Reform that Failed to Reform In the wake of Reform UK’s electoral surge earlier this year, many heralded it as a political awakening — the rise of a new force prepared to shake the dust off Britain’s stale establishment. Yet, just months later, the cracks are visible and widening. As many as thirty-four councillors have either resigned, been suspended, or been expelled. For a party that won 677 local seats and gained control of ten councils, this represents a troubling...

by Ram ben Ze'ev From Eber to Yehudit: The True Origin of the Language of Israel From the dawn of our lineage, the sacred tongue that we today call “Hebrew” has carried within it the breath of our ancestors and the sound of the Divine Word. Yet in the Torah itself, the language is not called Ivrit (עברית) . It is a name born centuries later. To understand how we arrived at this word, we must trace the path of our language through the generations — from Eber, to Yehuda, to Yisrael. In בראשית...

by Ram ben Ze’ev The So-Called Jerusalem Cross: A Symbol Misunderstood When photographs emerged of now–Secretary of War Pete Hegseth proudly displaying the tattoo of what he calls the “Jerusalem Cross” on his chest, the reaction among Democrats and Leftists in the United States was immediate and predictably hysterical. They condemned it as “Christian nationalism,” “Crusader imagery,” and a threat to “diversity.” Yet, as usual, their outrage was both selective and shallow — because they...

by Ram ben Ze’ev The Company He Keeps: Why Zohran Mamdani’s Candidacy Demands Jewish Scrutiny New York is no ordinary city. It is home to the largest Jewish population outside Israel — a city scarred by Islamist terror and yet a city whose compassion often leads it to forget what that terror cost. Now, with Zohran Mamdani rising as the presumptive mayoral winner, New Yorkers are being asked to overlook a record that demands scrutiny. Mamdani, the son of Ugandan immigrants of Indian descent...

by Ram ben Ze’ev The Global Burden of Uninvited Empathy The Internet was meant to connect the world — and it has. But in doing so, it has blurred the boundaries between awareness and intrusion, between caring and carrying . What began as an exchange of information has become a contest of opinions. Everyone feels compelled to speak on everything, everywhere, as if silence were an act of betrayal . Social media has made this even worse. The platforms that claim to “connect” us have, in truth,...

by Ram ben Ze’ev Musical Chairs in Gold: Why Small Investors Must Take Delivery Most gold trading today is not about bars moving from vault to vault; it is about claims on gold—promises, not metal. Futures, forwards, options, ETFs, and “unallocated” accounts are convenient, liquid, and, in quiet times, efficient. But they are still paper. If you are a smaller retail investor, that distinction is not academic; it is existential. The Two Markets: Paper vs. Metal There is the paper market, where...

מאת רם בן זאב הציונות איננה איום — היא היסוד במהלך נאומו בכנסת, השמיע נשיא ארצות הברית דונלד טראמפ דברים חריגים במיוחד ( תמליל ): “...the people of Israel have never given up from the threats of Zionism, from all sorts of threats...” — President Donald Trump "...עם ישראל מעולם לא ויתר על איומי הציונות, על כל מיני איומים..." — הנשיא דונלד טראמפ בהקשר הרחב יותר, כאשר דיבר על הקב״ה, אמר טראמפ: “And He still writes hope into the hearts of His children all over the world. And that is why even...

By Ram ben Ze’ev Zionism Is Not a Threat — It Is the Foundation It was during his speech at the Knesset that President Donald Trump uttered the extraordinary words ( Transcript ): “...the people of Israel have never given up from the threats of Zionism, from all sorts of threats...” — President Donald Trump Trump's statement , in context, was (speaking about G-D): "And He still writes hope into the hearts of His children all over the world. And that is why even after 3000 years of pain and...

by Ram ben Ze’ev Bitcoin’s Illusory Floor: Why Rising Mining Costs Expose a Structural Flaw For years, Bitcoin enthusiasts have repeated a mantra: that the “cost of mining” creates a kind of gravitational floor under the price, guaranteeing its long-term appreciation. In theory, this sounds compelling. Unlike fiat currencies, Bitcoin has a fixed issuance schedule. Unlike gold, its supply cannot be expanded in response to higher prices. And because mining becomes progressively more difficult,...

by Ram ben Ze’ev Trump, the Nobel Committee, and the Myth of Middle East Peace The Nobel Committee has announced its choice for this year’s Nobel Peace Prize and—surprise to some, though not to me—it isn’t President Donald Trump. Frankly, this should shock no one. The Nobel Prize for Peace is, at least in theory, awarded for lasting contributions toward peace. It is not intended for short bursts of diplomatic theatre for headlines or deals whose longevity is measured in months rather than...

מאת רם בן זאב יד, קפה, והקשר הנצחי השכם בבוקר, בסביבות השעה 2:30 לפי זמן גריניץ', התעוררתי לפתע מחלום שלא היה דומה לאף אחד מן החלומות שחלמתי מאז פטירת אבי ב־7 באוגוסט 2018. לעיתים תהיתי מדוע מעולם לא חלמתי עליו בחלום חי וברור. היינו קרובים, ואף על פי כן, לילה אחר לילה, שנה אחר שנה, נוכחותו לא הופיעה בשנתי בדרך מוחשית. אך הלילה שעבר היה שונה. בחלום, אבי ואני היינו בתחנת דרכים וקנינו קפה — דבר שנהג לעשות לעיתים קרובות. הסצנה הייתה מוכרת, יומיומית, ואף על פי כן שררה בה בהירות שקטה שהפכה אותה...

by Ram ben Ze’ev A Hand, A Coffee, and the Eternal Bond Early this morning, at around 2:30am GMT, I awoke suddenly from a dream that was unlike any I’ve had since my father died on 7 August 2018. I’ve often wondered why I never dreamt vividly of him. We were close, and yet, night after night, year after year, his presence never appeared in my sleep in a way that felt tangible. But last night was different. In the dream, my father and I were at a truck stop buying coffee — something he often...