by Rabbi Noah Weinberg
When the Jewish people stood at Mount Sinai, the entire nation was unified. The lesson is clear for us today.
Throughout the Torah, the Jewish people are always referred to in the plural form. This is evident in Exodus 19:2, which says the Jews "journeyed (vayi'su)... arrived (vaya'vo'u)... encamped (vaya'chanu)" -- all references are in the plural.
But then this verse ends with a surprise: Vayichan sham Yisrael neged ha'har -- "and the Jews encamped (singular) opposite the mountain."
In coming to Sinai, the Jewish people are referred to in the singular form. Rashi says this emphasizes how the entire nation encamped "with a single goal, and a singular desire."
Unity was a prerequisite for Sinai. An event with such earthshaking consequences could only be possible with unity.
UNDER ATTACK
How were the Jews able to achieve such unity at Sinai?
In Exodus chapters 15-17, the Jews are having a hard time. There's no water -- and they complain. Then there's no meat -- and they complain. They're so upset that Moses is afraid they'll kill him! Then again no water. The Jews are fighting and bickering terribly.
Then Amalek came and battled Israel. An outside ...   more »

Haviv Rettig
A new government strategy to redefine ties with the Diaspora to be "less patronizing and more humble" will be unveiled on June 22 in a policy report being developed jointly by Cabinet Secretary Ovad Yehezkel and Alan Hoffman, director-general of the Jewish Agency's Education Department, The Jerusalem Post has learned.
The report will mark a real change in Israel-Diaspora relations, Yehezkel told the Post.
"The Diaspora and Israel can't continue in the patronizing model of the past, which was okay when we had a new state with an ancient dream to fulfill," but amounts to a "tragic" misunderstanding of the situation today.
"Israel is a reality, and a very strong country. While we rely on the Diaspora, we have to understand that they also rely on us," he said.
The first step, Yehezkel said, was "humility."
"Israel doesn't have the means, experience, knowledge or ability to tell a Jew in Michigan or St. Petersburg how to be a Jew. We just don't know. We have to accept as a fact that there are Jews here and Jews there, and it's legitimate."
While "aliya is an important Zionist goal that remains important in our value system," Yehezkel said, "we ...   more »

Courts ban representatives from traveling to rocket-battered town, citing life-threatening danger posed to them there. Delivery of subpoenas to its residents now falls on shoulders of local police
Matan Zuri
When Sderot’s residents protest they are treated like second-class citizens and claim the government has deserted them - there alarmingly seems to be more to their cry than what detractors call hyperbolic hysteria.     
For the town where thousands of families grimly face daily rocket and mortar barrages from neighboring Gaza has been declared too dangerous a destination for court officials tasked with delivering subpoenas to Sderot residents, at least by the chief justice overseeing the Magistrates' courts in southern Israel.  
Israel's subpoena delivery procedures dictate a messenger or court official must personally serve papers informing citizens of an indictment filed against them or a summon to testify in court and have the recipient sign for them.
But this is no longer the case in Sderot and other Gaza-vicinity communities. Yedioth Ahronoth has learned that Justice Moshe Machlis has recently issued a new guideline forbidding court employees from traveling to Sderot to serve residents with subpoenas for fear they may be wounded or killed by a Qassam, or alternatively ...   more »