Rabbi Ballaban’s Monthly Column
Remembering Our Obligation to Refugees
In the realm of Jewish law and morality, there are those who compare the act of accepting refugees to the mitzvah of redeeming captives—pidyon sh’vuyim. In contrast to the aphorism that “one shouldn’t negotiate with kidnappers,” halakhah actually requires (in most cases) that Jewish communities pay any reasonable ransom to ensure the freeing of a […]
Making Order of Our World’s Chaos
Making Order of Our World’s Chaosby Rabbi Ari Ballaban On Sunday mornings, I often like to drop in on Rabbi Chessin’s advanced Hebrew classes. In re-cent weeks, she and her class have been working through the very start of the Torah, from the words which are classically translated as “in the beginning.” It feels serendipitous, […]
Fighting Hate at Home
Fighting Hate at Home By Rabbi Ari Ballaban On May 25th, our community will be tested: a group of demonstrators from an Indiana-based affiliate of the KKK will be holding a rally downtown at Courthouse Square. From what I’ve seen and heard, people are planning to respond on that day in one of three main […]
We Must Remember Their Names
We Must Remember Their Names By Rabbi Ari Ballaban The Israeli poet “Zelda” Schneurson Mishkovsky wrote the following well-known poem: Each of us has a name given by God and given by our parents Each of us has a name given by our stature and our smile and given by what we wear […]
Our Differences Are Our Strengths
Our Differences Are Our Strengths By Rabbi Ari Ballaban Then Haman said to Ahasuerus, “There is a certain people dispersed among the peoples in all the provinces of your kingdom who keep themselves separate…” It was with these words, according to Megillat Esther, that Haman began his explanation to King Ahasuerus of why the […]
Investing In The Future Of Judaism
September 4, 2019
In Kallah Rabbati (2:13), an early medieval rabbinic text, we read the following story about the great Rabbis Akiva and Tarfon: It was said about Rabbi Tarfon that he was a greatly wealthy man, but he did not donate much to the poor. Once, Rabbi Akiva said to him: “Would you like me to buy […]