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Halachic Left
@halachicleft.org
680 followers 63 following 82 posts
Halachic Left is changing the conversation about Israel/Palestine in traditionally observant Jewish communities
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Tweet Mairav Zonszein (@MairavZ): "It’s an emotional day. It’s a good day, but it’s also a day when the double standards and injustices are clear. Everyone deserves to be free, and everyone deserves a home" Tweet from Dimi Reider (@reider): May all hostages and political prisoners come to their homes. May all of them have homes to come back to, and freedom to rebuild. Quoted tweet from Quds News Network (@QudsNen): Freed Palestinian journalist Hamza Al-Safi reunites with his family in Ramallah after being released as part of the exchange deal. [Video still of a Hamza Al-Safi embracing a young girl as a small boy watches in the background]
October 13, 2025 at 7:27 PM
halachicleft.org
Continued... 2/
Instagram story screenshot from account bring.bipin.home, showing a single broken heart emoji. Added comment: family and friends of 10/7 hostage and Nepalese agriculture student Bipin Joshi learn of his death) Tweet from @khalil_hinawi: Unfortunately, I was unable to find my father's body. Forgive me, Father 😭 Quoted tweet from @khalil_hinawi (Oct 10): I couldn't find my father in the temporary grave where I had buried him; the Zionists had exhumed the graves of all the martyrs😭😭💔 [Photo with piles of rubble] Tweet @ori_goldberg: How could a human being not be happy to see parents and spouses and children reunited with loved ones after two years of hell? How could a human being not be crushed seeing Palestinians sifting through the lunar rubble with their bare hands, looking for the lowliest remains? A series of panels showing stills from a video, interviewing a Palestinian woman in Gaza: (interviewer): Who are they and what's their story? Woman: - Nothing they went to get flour, but they were taken. - I was told that they died. - I found out ten days ago that they are still alive. - And today, my joy is immense. - My sons are returning. - (interviewer): Are their names on the list? - (woman): Yes. - Mohammed Radwan Al-Bahtiti and Khaled Radwan Al-Bahtiti - My joy is so big it doesn't fit in this world. - They've been gone for 62 days. Original video: https://x.com/MiddleEastEye/status/1977763383886729619
October 13, 2025 at 7:23 PM
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Scenes from an intensely joyful and painful Hoshanah Rabbah...
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Tweet @AlonLeeGreen: Einav won! Matan returned! Her struggle won! What an exciting moment we've all been waiting for. Unbelievable. [Photo of released hostage Matan Zangauker embracing his mother Einav] Tweet: @RamAbdu: This grieving man, Hitham Salem — Israel killed all his children and his wife weeks before his release. He made a gift for his daughter, whose birthday is in a few days. Look at the anguish consuming him. [Video still of Hitham Salem, anguished at the news of his family's death] Tweet @JohnLyndon_: Had privilege of spending time with Nimrod's Dad- Yehuda, pictured here- while in NY at UNGA & in meeting with @EmmanuelMacron. Where he not only advocated for Nimrod's release, but for Palestinian rights, statehood & lasting I/P peace. I hope I'm half the Dad/human being he is. Quoted tweet: @LucBernard: Nimrod is back 😭 [photo of released Israeli hostage Nimrod Cohen with his family, sitting together and smiling] Tweet @HowidyHamza: It's worth noting that hundreds of Gazans have been arrested by Israeli forces since October 7 under what’s called the “unlawful combatant” law, a legal framework that allows indefinite detention without charge or trial. Most of them are civilians taken from evacuation zones, hospitals, or shelters, with no evidence presented against them. Quoted tweet: @gazanotice "BREAKING: Freed Palestinian abductee embraces his son in an emotional reunion in Khan Younis Southern Gaza Strip, following his release as part of the exchange deal." [Video of a crowd of people welcoming a Palestinian released from Israeli custody, with different people embracing him as he walks through the crowd]
October 13, 2025 at 7:16 PM
halachicleft.org
You can download our High Holiday reader "Ya'aleh Zikhroneinu" (w/ different formats according to your printing needs) here: www.halachicleft.org/torah

If you would like to donate so we can continue our work (we pay writers), you can do so here: www.paypal.com/donate/?host... Thank you & gmar tov!
יעלה זכרוננו / Ya'aleh Zikhroneinu Essays for the Yamim Noraim Published by Halachic Left, 5786 / 2025 Contributors: Rana Bickel • Jonathan Boyarin • Rabbi Caleb Brommer • Rabbi Vincent Calabrese • Rabbi Aryeh Cohen • Rabbi William Friedman • Avi Garelick • Rabbi Avigayil Halpern • Lexi Kohanski • Raphael Magarik • Zev Mishell • Ya’aqov Shenkin • Laynie Soloman • Rabbi Leead Staller • Rabbi Lauren Tuchman Edited by Rabbi Lexie Botzum, Max Buchdahl, Caroline Morganti, Eliana Padwa, and Noam Weinreich [background image: a watercolor of the sky at either sunset or sunrise]
October 1, 2025 at 2:35 PM
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Ahead of Yom Kippur, we're sharing our Suggested Tzedakah page from our Yamim Noraim reader. We encourage you to donate to any of the following initiatives:

Gaza Soup Kitchen: bit.ly/gaza-sk
Umm Al-Kheir: bit.ly/umm-al-kheir
Palestine Children's Relief Fund: bit.ly/pcrf-gaza
Suggested Tzedakah ותשובה ותפילה וצדקה מעבירין את רוע הגזרה "But repentance, prayer, and charity avert the evil decree." We encourage you to donate to the initiatives in both Gaza and the West Bank below: Gaza Soup Kitchen: https://bit.ly/gaza-sk "The initiative began by feeding 150 families a day in April 2024 and quickly grew to serving 3,000 people daily. Operating amidst unimaginable scarcity and risk, our team works tirelessly to prepare and serve hot, nourishing meals. We are not an outside aid group; we are the people of Gaza, serving our own community. Currently, across 10 active kitchen sites, the team prepares simple vegetarian meals-like rice, pasta, and khubeza (a wild foraged green) — often with severely limited supplies." Palestine Children's Relief Fund: https://bit.ly/pcrf-gaza "Gaza is facing an unprecedented humanitarian crisis — families are struggling to survive amid destruction, severe shortages of medical care, food, and clean water, and a collapsed healthcare system. PCRF is on the ground, providing urgent medical aid, food, and life-saving treatment to those in desperate need, including orphans and amputees. We are also deploying international medical teams, evacuating injured children for specialized care, and rebuilding healthcare facilities to restore critical services. "Your support brings hope, healing, and a path to recovery for Gaza’s most vulnerable." Umm Al Kheir: https://bit.ly/umm-al-kheir "This fundraiser is to support the community of Umm Al Khair, those most impacted by the devastating loss and brutal murder of community and human rights activist Awdah Hathaleen, and to continue projects and dreams that he had for his community. Awdah was dear friend of so many all over the world, a loving husband and father of three children...Please join us in supporting the community and his family... All funds raised will be distributed in the community in coordination with his family and the village council."
October 1, 2025 at 2:27 PM
halachicleft.org
Here's the table of contents:
Contents Introduction • 7 Rosh Hashanah ✶ The Promise of God's Memory in a World of Lies by Rabbi Vincent Calabrese • 8 ✶ Can We Take Accountability For the Fate of Hagar? by Avi Garelick • 10 ✶ Hearing the Enemy’s Mother’s Cries: The Radical Rabbinic Reinterpretation of the Shofar by Rabbi William Friedman • 13 ✶ Turning Towards Communal Teshuvah by Rabbi Lauren Tuchman • 18 ✶ The Web of Life Has Become the Monster by Lexi Kohanski • 21 ✶ Blessing the King by Laynie Soloman • 26 Yom Kippur ✶ Permission to Pray by Rabbi Caleb Brommer • 30 ✶ Nevertheless, Doing Jewish Things by Jonathan Boyarin • 33 ✶ Does God Want Our Fasts? by Ya'aqov Shenkin • 35 ✶ Yom Kippur and the Jubilee by Raphael Magarik • 37 ✶ A String of Crimson by Rana Bickel • 39 ✶ Jewish Theology in Exile by Zev Mishell • 43 ✶ No Sacrifices? No Temple? No Problem by Rabbi Leead Staller • 46 ✶ Al Chet / על חטא by Rabbi Aryeh Cohen • 49 ✶ Bad Feelings and the Future by Rabbi Avigayil Halpern • 53 Suggested Tzedakah • 57 About Halachic Left • 58
September 21, 2025 at 6:01 AM
halachicleft.org
✨ "Ya'aleh Zikhroneinu," our essay collection for the High Holidays, is now live!
Download and print it out to read over the chagim here: bit.ly/hl-reader-5786 ✨
יעלה זכרוננו Essays for the Yamim Noraim Published by Halachic Left, 5786/2025 Contributors: Rana Bickel • Jonathan Boyarin • Rabbi Caleb Brommer • Rabbi Vincent Calabrese • Rabbi Aryeh Cohen • Rabbi William Friedman • Avi Garelick • Rabbi Avigayil Halpern • Lexi Kohanski • Raphael Magarik • Zev Mishell • Ya’aqov Shenkin • Laynie Soloman • Rabbi Leead Staller • Rabbi Lauren Tuchman Edited by Rabbi Lexie Botzum, Max Buchdahl, Caroline Morganti, Eliana Padwa, and Noam Weinreich [Cover image: a watercolor background of clouds in the sky near either sunset or sunrise]
September 21, 2025 at 4:35 AM
halachicleft.org
‼️ When the author of the book shows up to the Halachic Left Book Club meeting...!

Thank you to Prof. Avi Shlaim for his surprise appearance at our Zoom discussion of his book "Three Worlds: Memoirs of an Arab-Jew," and for graciously answering all of our questions!
HL's Aaron and Prof. Avi Shlaim on the Zoom meeting for the Halachic Left book club
September 9, 2025 at 12:41 AM
halachicleft.org
A year and a day ago, @bradlander.bsky.social stopped by our Tisha B'Av vigil on the Upper West Side and took time to look through our read, which includes Megillat Eicha surrounded by Palestinian voices (along with other essays and tefilah):
drive.google.com/file/d/1FDnU...
Brad Lander holding our "For These Things I Weep" Tisha B'Av supplement in August 2024 Brad Lander reading our "For These Things I Weep" Tisha B'Av supplement in August 2024.
August 5, 2025 at 4:37 AM
halachicleft.org
Gazan Palestinian @motazazaiza.bsky.social: “my grandmother is starving in Gaza… my neighbor was killed by a sniper when trying to get flour.”
#JewsSayNoMore
Motaz Azaiza speaks at the "Jews Say No More" rally in Columbus Circle, NYC
August 5, 2025 at 2:47 AM
halachicleft.org
“We are called on to stop this chillul Hashem! We are called on to say ‘Eicha!’” — @bradlander.bsky.social

#JewsSayNoMore
Brad Lander speaking at the "Jews Say No More" rally in New York City
August 5, 2025 at 2:45 AM
halachicleft.org
And thank you to director Omri Dayan for his discussion/Q&A with Yavni Bar-Yam after our screening of Seven Jewish Children (sevenjewishchildren.com).
All screenings raise funds for @medicalaidpal.bsky.social -- we encourage you to donate here: map.org.uk
Yavni Bar-Yam discusses the short film "Seven Jewish Children" with director Omri Dayan
August 4, 2025 at 3:37 PM
halachicleft.org
Thank you to everyone who joined our Tisha B'Av Zoom programming!
Special thank you to Dr. Rivka Press Schwartz @rps.bsky.social and Rabbi Leead Staller for teaching!
Dr. Rivka Press Schwartz, wearing glasses with light green frames and a black, white, and light green tichel, gives a shiur over Zoom Rabbi Leead Staller, with dark hair, a beard, and glasses and wearing a navy shirt with white polka dots, gives a shiur over Zoom
August 4, 2025 at 3:33 PM
halachicleft.org
As well as essays and original tefillah...
Mi Sheberach for an End to Bloodshed by Anonymous יְהִי רָצוֹן מִלְּפָנֶיךָ, ה׳ אֱ-לֹהֵינוּ וֵא-לֹהֵי אֲבוֹתֵינוּ וְאִמּוֹתֵינוּ, שֶׁאֶת הָרִשְׁעָה תְּעַקֵּר וּתְשַׁבֵּר וּתְמַגֵּר וְתַכְנִיעַ בִּמְהֵרָה בְּיָמֵינוּ, וְאֶת הַדָּם לֹא יִשְׁפְּכוּ עוֹד וְאֶת הָאָרֶץ לֹא יֵחָנִפוּ, כִּי תַּמְשִׁיךְ שָׁלוֹם גָּדוֹל וְנִפְלָא בָּעוֹלָם, וְלֹא יִשָּׂא גוֹי אֶל גּוֹי חֶרֶב, וְלֹא יִלְמְדוּ עוֹד מִלְחָמָה. וְאַל יִשְׁלוֹט עוֹד הָאָדָם בְּאָדָם לְרַע לוֹ, כִּי גֵרִים אֲנַחְנוּ לְפָנֶיךָ, תּוֹשָׁבִים כְּכָל אֲבוֹתֵינוּ. עַל הָעֲשׂוּקִים, עַל הַשְּׁבוּיִים, עַל יִשְׁרֵי הַלֵּב וְעַל שְׁאֵרִית פְּלֵיטַת עַמְּךָ (וּבִפְרָט עַל:...), וְעַל אַחֵינוּ בְּנֵי יִשְׁמָעֵאל מְיַחֲדֶיךָ, יֶהֱמוּ נָא רַחַמְךָ אֲדֹנָי אֱ-לֹהֵינוּ כִּי עָלָה מָוֶת בְּחַלּוֹנֵינוּ, בָּא בְּאַרְמְנוֹתֵינוּ לְהַכְרִית עוֹלָל מִחוּץ בַּחוּרִים מֵרְחֹבוֹת. אָנָה ה׳, אַל תְּכַסֶּה דָּמָם וְאַל יְהִי מָקוֹם לְזַעֲקָתָם, עַד אֲשֶׁר תּוֹצִיא אֶת צִדְקָם לְאוֹרָה, עַד אֲשֶׁר תִּתֵּן פַּחְדְּךָ עַל כָּל מַעֲשֶׂיךָ וְאֵימָתְךָ עַל כָּל מַה שֶּׁבָּרָאתָ, וְיִשְׁתַּחֲווּ לְפָנֶיךָ כָּל הַבְּרוּאִים, וְיֵעָשׂוּ כֻּלָּם אֲגֻדָּה אַחַת לַעֲשׂוֹת רְצוֹנְךָ בְּלֵבָב שָׁלֵם. אָז יִבָּקַע כַּשַּׁחַר אוֹרֵנוּ וּתְקַיֵּם בָּנוּ מִקְרָא שֶׁכָּתוּב: וְהִכְרַתִּי-רֶכֶב מֵאֶפְרַיִם, וְסוּס מִירוּשָׁלִַם, וְנִכְרְתָה קֶשֶׁת מִלְחָמָה, וְדִבֵּר שָׁלוֹם לַגּוֹיִם; וּמָשְׁלוֹ מִיָּם עַד-יָם, וּמִנָּהָר עַד-אַפְסֵי-אָרֶץ. וְיִגַּל כַּמַּיִם מִשְׁפָּט וּצְדָקָה כְּנַחַל אֵיתָן. כִּי מָלְאָה הָאָרֶץ דֵּעָה אֶת ה׳ כַּמַּיִם לַיָּם מְכַסִּים. וְכֵן יְהִי רָצוֹן וְנֹאמַר אָמֵן. [At the bottom of the page is a photo of Palestinians enjoying swimming on the shores of Gaza City during the summer vacation, Gaza Strip, June 28, 2019. Photo by Mohammed Zaanoun / Activestills ]
July 31, 2025 at 5:58 PM
halachicleft.org
Featuring Palestinian voices from Gaza in place of traditional commentaries...
A page showing the first chapter of Megillat Eicha in Hebrew and English texts, surrounded by quotes from Palestinians in Gaza highlighting selected verses, in a layout similar to a Mikraot Gedolot or Talmud page
July 31, 2025 at 5:55 PM
halachicleft.org
Our Tisha B'Av reader in collaboration w/ @atlcol.bsky.social is just as relevant, if not more, this year. You can download it (with a preface for 2025/5785) here: drive.google.com/file/d/1FDnU...
על אלה אני בוכיה For These Things I Weep A reader for the Nine Days and Tisha B'Av with contributions from members of Halachic Left and All That's Left 5784/2024 Contributors: Nathaniel Berman • Rabbi Lexie Botzum • Rabbi Sarah Brammer-Shlay • Rabbi Aryeh Cohen • Avi Garelick Amit Gvaryahu • Sara Klugman • Tirza Leibowitz • Shaul Magid • Rena Yehuda Newman • Noam Weinreich Edited by Liz Bentley, Rabbi Lexie Botzum, Max Buchdahl, Caroline Morganti, Eliana Padwa, Maya Rosen, and Aron Wander
July 31, 2025 at 5:52 PM
halachicleft.org
Come to this year's Tisha B'Av Zoom programming -- including group learning of selected kinnot, a screening of the short film Seven Jewish Children and Q&A with director Omri Dayan, and shiurim with R' Leead Staller & Dr. Rivka Press Schwartz
@rps.bsky.social

Sign up here: bit.ly/9av-zoom
Halachic Left Tisha B'Av Online Programming Sunday, August 3 via Zoom All times listed in US Eastern time Schedule: * 1:30-2:30pm EDT: Communal kinnot chaburah * 2:30-3:30pm: “Why Do We Fast on Tisha B’Av?” with Rabbi Leead Staller * 3:30-4:30pm: Virtual screening of Seven Jewish Children, followed by a Q&A with director Omri Dayan * 4:30-5:30pm: “Daughter Zion Talks Back to the Prophets” with Dr. Rivka Press Schwartz Please RSVP here to get Zoom link: http://bit.ly/9av-zoom
July 31, 2025 at 4:30 AM
halachicleft.org
Join us in coalition with other Jewish groups this Monday (8/4, the day after Tisha B'Av) in NYC! Register here: innmvmt.org/stopstarvation
Stop Starvation, Stop Ethnic Cleansing JEWS SAY: NO MORE Mass mobilization Trump Hotel, Columbus Circle Mon, Aug 4 - 6:30pm ET "Whoever can protest their people's actions, and doesn't, is responsible for them" (Shabbat 54b)
July 30, 2025 at 7:09 PM
halachicleft.org
We’re having online programming again this year on 9 Av.
We'll have closer learning of selected kinnot, a screening of the short film Seven Jewish Children along w/ a director Q&A, & shiurim from R' Leead Staller & Dr. Rivka Press Schwartz @rps.bsky.social.
RSVP: bit.ly/9av-zoom
Halachic Left Tisha B'Av Online Programming Sunday, August 3 via Zoom All times listed in US Eastern time Schedule: * 1:30-2:30pm EDT: Communal kinnot chaburah * 2:30-3:30pm: “Why Do We Fast on Tisha B’Av?” with Rabbi Leead Staller * 3:30-4:30pm: Virtual screening of Seven Jewish Children, followed by a Q&A with director Omri Dayan * 4:30-5:30pm: “Daughter Zion Talks Back to the Prophets” with Dr. Rivka Press Schwartz Please RSVP here to get Zoom link: http://bit.ly/9av-zoom
July 29, 2025 at 9:03 PM
halachicleft.org
Columbia student Aharon Dardik on @peterbeinart.bsky.social's substack (~10 min preview for those who aren’t paid subscribers) talks about his childhood in an Israeli settlement, refusing to serve in the Israeli army, & being a religious Jew for a ceasefire:
peterbeinart.substack.com/p/how-a-mind...
Aharon Dardik, a man in his young 20s with fair skin and short dark blond hair, speaks via Zoom on Peter Beinart's substack. A bookshelf filled with a variety of books (including what appear to be sefarim/religious Jewish texts) is in the background.
July 27, 2025 at 4:11 PM
halachicleft.org
Can’t be here in person? Watch the livestream!
www.youtube.com/live/dUlRged...
Halachic Left Forum: Presenting Works on Nationalism, Community, Boundaries Sunday, July 20; NYC; Register: bit.ly/forum-hl Presenters and Topics: * Rabbi Lexie Botzum - Kashrut in Solidarity Work * Rabbi Dr. Aryeh Cohen - Halacha and Democracy: Rethinking the Relationship * Albert Kohn: "Delaying the Services": An Exploration of Medieval Ashkenazic Protest * Rabbi Allen Lipson: "A Prison Without a Lock": Halachic Perspectives on BDS * Dr. Raphael Magarik: Rabbinic Approaches to Ascending the Temple Mount: The Norms of Sacred Space * Rabbi Dr. David Seidenberg: Ger Toshav: Stranger and Settler in Israel-Palestine * Rabbi Leead Staller: Bal Taschit and the Laws of War * Isaac Treuherz: Shelilat HaMinhag: "Negation of the Diaspora" and the Flattenting of Our Traditions * Netanel Zellis-Paley: Law at the End of History: Is Religious Zionist Halacha Antinomian? Commentators: * Rabbi William Friedman * Rabbi Avigayil Halpern * Dr. Sarah Wolf
July 20, 2025 at 2:01 PM
halachicleft.org
🔥 Continuing our series looking at the presentations at the HL Forum on Sunday, 7/20!

Rabbi David Seidenberg is writing about the Torah's position on Jewish indigeneity in the Land of Israel.

Register to attend by THIS Sunday: bit.ly/forum-hl
Halachic Left Forum Presenting Works on Nationalism, Community, Boundaries Sunday, July 20, 9:30am-5:30pm, NYC, Register: bit.ly/forum-hl Ger Toshav: Stranger and Settler in Israel/Palestine by Rabbi David Seidenberg Many Jews across the political spectrum put great stock in the idea that Jews are indigenous to the land of Israel. How we think about Jewish indigenousness to the land of Israel has a deep impact on how we think about Jewish and Palestinian rights and equality, ethics toward the other, the nature of political power, and the perverse attraction of the ethno-state and ethnic hierarchy, which arguably contradicts the best interpretation of the Torah's ethics. The Torah itself insists that the Israelites are not indigenous to Canaan/Israel/Palestine — instead, the Israelites are portrayed as either strangers and immigrants (Genesis), or as conquerors (Joshua), even though archaeological evidence suggests the Israelites were in fact indigenous. In a nutshell, the indigenous wisdom of the Israelites, as detailed in Genesis and throughout much of the Tanakh, is that one should not see oneself as indigenous, but rather as a stranger, a ger v'toshav. In fact, this self-image provides the foundation for the Torah's ethic toward the stranger (Lev 19:34 and dozens of other passages) and towards the land itself (Lev 25:23). A deeper look at the ethos and ethics of the Torah in relation to the stranger shows that halakhic interpretations that limit "ger" to Jewish converts and "neighbor" to Jews subvert the Torah's ethics and intentions. Instead, we should configure our interpretations of halakha and politics to recognize the Palestinians as having equal rights to the land, and to see the use of state power to limit those rights as anathema to an accurate understanding of Torah. This hermeneutic demands of us that we identify with the "Torah of the stranger" in Genesis, and recognize the ways in which it is incompatible with the "Torah of genocide" in Joshua. Author bio: Rabbi David Mevorach Seidenberg is the creator of neohasid.org and the author of Kabbalah and Ecology. He has ordination from JTS and from Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi, and has been an active advocate for peace and justice in Israel/Palestine for many decades. This has included bringing his class in rabbinical school to Dheisheh refugee camp, and participating in programs in the holy land with Sulha and with the Center for Jewish Nonviolence. David was also a founding Board member of Brit Tzedek v’Shalom. Many of his writings on the land of Israel and the political state have appeared in the Times of Israel. David also writes about other issues related to ecology, to human rights, and to animal rights. David has been actively studying and teaching about the question of Jewish indigeneity since 2018.
July 11, 2025 at 7:42 PM
halachicleft.org
🔥 Continuing our series looking at the presentations at the HL Forum on Sunday, 7/20!

Rabbi Lexie Botzum is writing about kashrut concerns in Palestinian solidarity work.

Register to attend by THIS Sunday: bit.ly/forum-hl
Halachic Left Forum Presenting Works on Nationalism, Community, Boundaries Sunday, July 20, 9:30am-5:30pm • NYC • Register: bit.ly/forum-hl Kashrut in Solidarity Spaces by Rabbi Lexie Botzum International and Israeli solidarity activists in Israel/Palestine are engaged constantly in the project of “protective presence,” using their bodies and attendant privileges to protect Palestinian partners in the West Bank against the constant threat of settler and army violence, and its accompanying goal of violent dispossession. This work is premised not on transactional support, but deep, co-resistant relationships. Something that both deepens these relationships and makes possible more long-term protective presence is the sharing of meals prepared by Palestinian partners. (continued >) Religious solidarity activists have had to address the question of whether it is possible, within the bounds of kashrut, to share vegetarian meals. This teshuva addresses that question, examining first ingredients-based concerns, before moving on to the broader question of preparer-based prohibitions, examining not only the mekorot but broader questions of alterity, identity, and the world we’re trying to construct. It will seek to address the question: How do we reconcile kashrut’s focus on distinction and separation with a desire to be in deep relationship with our Palestinian partners? Bio: Rabbi Lexie Botzum is a teacher, writer, and organizer based in Washington Heights, NYC. She has studied with the Yashrut halakha shiur, the Conservative Yeshiva, Yeshivat Hadar, and the Pardes kollel; she received semikha from Rabbi Daniel Landes at Yashrut, where she now teaches Gemara and halakha. Her work has been published in Jewish Currents, +972 Magazine, Vashti Magazine, and My Jewish Learning. She’s published a book of illustrated parshah poetry, Poem HaShavua, complete with mekorot. Lexie enjoys helping people develop the tools to engage Torah on their own terms, and exploring halakha as an intricate project of world-building. While she’s been in New York for a year, Lexie spent the previous five years in Jerusalem, engaged in Torah learning and on the ground anti-occupation activism.
July 10, 2025 at 5:13 PM
halachicleft.org
🤩 Schedule and topic descriptions for the Halachic Left Forum now online here: halachicleft.org/forum

Register to attend by this Sunday! bit.ly/forum-hl
Halachic Left Forum: Presenting Works on Nationalism, Community, Boundaries Sunday, July 20; NYC; Register: bit.ly/forum-hl Presenters and Topics: * Rabbi Lexie Botzum - Kashrut in Solidarity Work * Rabbi Dr. Aryeh Cohen - Halacha and Democracy: Rethinking the Relationship * Albert Kohn: "Delaying the Services": An Exploration of Medieval Ashkenazic Protest * Rabbi Allen Lipson: "A Prison Without a Lock": Halachic Perspectives on BDS * Dr. Raphael Magarik: Rabbinic Approaches to Ascending the Temple Mount: The Norms of Sacred Space * Rabbi Dr. David Seidenberg: Ger Toshav: Stranger and Settler in Israel-Palestine * Rabbi Leead Staller: Bal Taschit and the Laws of War * Isaac Treuherz: Shelilat HaMinhag: "Negation of the Diaspora" and the Flattenting of Our Traditions * Netanel Zellis-Paley: Law at the End of History: Is Religious Zionist Halacha Antinomian? Commentators: * Rabbi William Friedman * Rabbi Avigayil Halpern * Dr. Sarah Wolf
July 9, 2025 at 6:49 PM
halachicleft.org
🔥 Continuing our series looking at the presentations at the HL Forum on Sunday, 7/20!

Rabbi Allen Lipson writing about historical applications of cherem and its relevance to today's debates about boycotting Israel.

Register to attend by THIS SUNDAY ($25 to help pay for lunch): bit.ly/forum-hl
Halachic Left Forum Presenting Works on Nationalism, Community, Boundaries Sunday, July 20, 9:30am-5:30pm, NYC, Register: bit.ly/forum-hl "A Prison Without a Lock": Halakhic Considerations of Boycotting Israel by Rabbi Allen Lipson As the ghastly death toll mounts in Gaza and hundreds of thousands of Palestinians stand at the brink of starvation, liberal Jews have gradually opened toward placing political and economic pressure on the state of Israel to stop the violence. But years of demonizing boycotts, divestment, and sanctions, the most effective tool for doing so, as inherently antisemitic have left Jews ill-equipped for that conversation. This paper explores the ḥerem, the Jewish social boycott, as a frame of reference for Israel-Palestine. It first offers a brief sketch of ḥerem’s history, only to focus in one relevant case: ḥerem as a “restorative” response to physical assault, a precedent spanning from the Geonic period to the present. (continued >) In particular, it closely analyzes a responsum of R. Ya’akov Epstein, a religious-Zionist decisor of the 21st century, calling for ostracism of Israeli military personnel after they employed violence against settlers during the evacuation of the West Bank outpost of Amona. Finally, it considers the most forceful rabbinic objections to ḥerem—protests against its illiberalism, collective punishment, and impracticality—drawing out their relevance for today’s boycott debate. Bio: Rabbi Allen Lipson is a community organizer at Essex County Community Organization and an alumnus of Hebrew College. His writing has appeared in the Review of Rabbinic Judaism, Jewish Currents, CrossCurrents, and Zeramim.
July 9, 2025 at 3:48 PM