Shmully Hecht

Can the Middle East really offer freedom for all?

Most people around the world, including most Jews, wish the people of the North Africa and the Middle East their best hopes.

By Shmully Hecht | February 18, 2011; 03:31 PM ET | Comments (0)

Are money and freedom exclusive?

In President Obama's meetings with Chinese President Hu Jintao this week, should discussion of human rights and religious freedom be on par with economic and environmental issues, or should human rights and religious freedom be secondary matters? Last year, the...

By Shmully Hecht | January 21, 2011; 02:48 PM ET | Comments (0)

When hate speaks, how much are we supposed to listen?

We non-Muslims can only offer our support to those who preach peace.

By Shmully Hecht | January 10, 2011; 09:57 AM ET | Comments (0)

Welfare - real help or hindrance?

A lifetime of welfare without the expectation and means to rise out of poverty, will doom the underclass to a permanent place at the bottom of society.

By Shmully Hecht | December 21, 2010; 02:50 PM ET | Comments (1)

He who cheats on his spouse will cheat on everyone

If familes can not get along, how can neighborhoods, communities society as a whole function well? They won't

By Shmully Hecht | December 10, 2010; 12:52 PM ET | Comments (4)

Blessed is the country that knows justice for all

Of the strongest signs (and reasons) that America is a blessed nation, is that even in a time of worldwide political and economic crises, ours is a country where at every level, from the federal court where a man's lifetime hangs in the balance, to a grade school classroom, we have the right to shine the light of equality and justice on everyone.

By Shmully Hecht | November 30, 2010; 12:11 PM ET | Comments (7)

Religious incoherence and the presidency

If it is true that Obama avoided the temple due to head covering, what does the president's reluctance to be seen as Muslim say about him and about us?

By Shmully Hecht | November 10, 2010; 12:52 PM ET | Comments (5)

Gays should be welcomed by our religious institutions

Though I am an orthodox rabbi who believes that in my faith marriage is defined as the union of a Jewish man and Jewish woman, we must "reconcile Jewish and modern democratic law.

By Shmully Hecht | October 14, 2010; 05:56 PM ET | Comments (3)

Atheism and ignorance

To be fair, active atheists and agnostics like Christopher Hitchens and Sam Harris (both of Jewish descent) present in fact quite the opposite of Jon Stewarts antics, indeed taking their studies of G-d very seriously.

By Shmully Hecht | September 29, 2010; 04:43 PM ET | Comments (47)

The 23 state solution

Israel is and shall always remain a mostly democratic but unwaveringly Jewish state. Moreover, I believe this is G-d's intention as indicated in the holy texts that all three major religions respect.

By Shmully Hecht | September 13, 2010; 06:11 PM ET | Comments (14)

Fair and equal treatment for Islam

Hating Muslims for no other reason than their religion of birth or choice is indeed "Islamophobia." Holding Muslims and Islam to the same standards of inquiry as other groups, on the other hand, is in fact perfectly legitimate.

By Shmully Hecht | September 8, 2010; 03:41 PM ET | Comments (5)

A president of faith is all we need

Faithlessness and nihilism are the greatest threats to humanity, and a leader who believes in nothing, or establishes a religion to serve himself or his state, becomes Hitler, Stalin, Mao or Pol Pot; who together murdered and starved over one hundred million human beings.

By Shmully Hecht | September 3, 2010; 04:16 PM ET | Comments (5)

Television on your wedding night?

Cordoba House raises a different set of questions; not of constitutional rights or enshrined liberties but of empathy, decency and genuine recognition of an American tragedy and the feelings of non-Muslims.

By Shmully Hecht | August 20, 2010; 08:53 AM ET | Comments (2)

Marrying within faith respects difference among traditions

Indeed, when G-d told Jews not to intermarry it was out of respect for and preservation of important differences. I join my fellow clergy in proclaiming that we are still subject to the will and wisdom of our creator, who has defined for us true and distinct paths.

By Shmully Hecht | July 29, 2010; 12:58 PM ET | Comments (14)

Jewish peace

Jewish history, ethics and the Hebrew language tell us that peace is a complete state, and we must achieve no less in Afghanistan. While the Allied Nations fight this war on enemy territory we must constantly remember that the alternative is war within our own borders as we sadly witnessed on 9/11. Only a complete victory will assure us the safety we deserve.

By Shmully Hecht | July 1, 2010; 11:55 AM ET | Comments (6)

The Bible is the source of morality

Jewish State is responsible for the well being of the innocent within the West Bank and Gaza and must do everything in its power to ensure their health and safety, even when such efforts will only increase much of the world's scorn.

By Shmully Hecht | June 8, 2010; 06:50 PM ET | Comments (29)

We are the caretakers of the universe

In short, the world's is not ours. It is loaned to us by the Creator to use productively and respectfully and, we must answer to him and to our neighbors with whom we share this temporary residence.

By Shmully Hecht | June 3, 2010; 09:37 AM ET | Comments (59)

"And thou shalt love the stranger"

While we must safegaurd American sovereignty and the legal process whereby immigrants become taxpaying and law-abiding citizens, the Torah goes even further in its demand for justice. We are commanded to love our neighbor and even more so to respect the stranger regardless of his or her economic utility or social contribution.

By Shmully Hecht | May 24, 2010; 08:52 PM ET | Comments (5)

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