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Over 100 printed copies already ordered! 😄

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Reposted by Halachic Left

Rabbi David Polsky @motownrabbi.bsky.social · 25/08/2026

✨ Our new essay collection for 5787, HaYom Te’amtzeinu (“Strengthen Us This Day”) is now out! 💜 You can read it here: drive.google.com/file/d/1vQZ6... AND you can purchase a printed copy here: www.paypal.com/ncp/payment/...

היום תאמצנו
Strengthen Us This Day

Essays for Tishrei 5787/2026

Published by Halachic Left

(the background is green with a white line drawing of the schach of a sukkah, with a bamboo pole reinforcement)

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I have a Talmudic reading in here about Shofar, Rosh Hashanah, and the notion that G-d is really the only true Owner:

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Featuring ten new essays from - Prof. Daniel Boyarin - Prof. Sarah Wolf - R Will Friedman - R Vincent Calabrese - Laynie Soloman - Rana Bickel - Ya’aqov Lawrence Shenkin - R David Polsky - Binya Koatz - Noam Weinreich on holidays from Rosh Hashanah to Simchas Torah! 🍎🍯🐐🍋🌿💃📜

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Dr. Rachel Havrelock: "The Joshua State: National Religion in Contemporary Israel" (1:00 PM - 02:00 PM CDT)

The Joshua State: National Religion in Comtemporary Israel

with Dr. Rachel Havrelock

Building on the events since the 2020 publication of Prof. Havrelock’s The Joshua Generation: Israeli Occupation and the Bible, this workshop will consider interpretations of the book of Joshua since October 7th and the destruction of Gaza, focusing primarily on Minister of Finance Bezalel Smotrich. We will consider the degree to which commitment to militarism has displaced Judaism within Israel and how it has transformed it.

Reposted by Halachic Left

Rabbi Will Friedman: "'Legitimate' Violence and Its Costs: Limits to and Consequences of Self-Defense and War" (11:15 AM - 12:15 PM CDT)

“Legitimate” Violence & Its Costs: Limits to and Consequences of
Self-Defense and War

with Rabbi Will Friedman

Individual and communal self-defense ("war") are widely accepted in both secular and Jewish ethics as legitimate uses of violence, as long as they stay within defined limits. A careful reading of traditional Jewish texts, however, reveals a discomfort even with these "legitimate" uses of violence. Through an examination of halakhic sources on self-defense and aggadic reflections on violent Biblical narratives, we will expose an alternative ethical universe that recognizes the extraordinarily high price of killing and may even hope to eschew it entirely.

Reposted by Halachic Left

CHICAGO: come learn w/ us THIS Sunday! R Will Friedman: "'Legitimate' Violence and Its Costs: Limits to and Consequences of Self-Defense and War" Dr. Rachel Havrelock: "The Joshua State: National Religion in Contemporary Israel" SIGN UP: www.eventbrite.com/e/chicago-je... Session descriptions 🧵

Jewish Reckoning with Power
A Halachic Left Learning Series, Part 5 (Chicago)
Rabbi Will Friedman and Prof. Rachel Havrelock

Sunday, Aug. 23, 11am-2pm CDT
SketchPad Chicago & via Zoom

Swipe for session descriptions >>

*** We believe in learning Torah from all. Speaking does not imply agreement with Halachic Left's political positions. Institutional affiliations are for identification purposes only.

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Dr. Rachel Havrelock: "The Joshua State: National Religion in Contemporary Israel" (1:00 PM - 02:00 PM CDT)

Rabbi Will Friedman: "'Legitimate' Violence and Its Costs: Limits to and Consequences of Self-Defense and War" (11:15 AM - 12:15 PM CDT)

Halachic Left @halachicleft.org · 11/08/2026

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^^^ @ifnotnowmovement.org feel free to use if anyone engages in the predictable narishkeit about "tzedek tzedek tirdof" this week

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Halachic Left @halachicleft.org · 11/08/2026

How's this for a first entry? 😂😆

Expanding brain meme based on the pasuk
צֶדֶק צֶדֶק תִּרְדֹּף לְמַעַן תִּחְיֶה וְיָרַשְׁתָּ אֶת־הָאָרֶץ אֲשֶׁר־ה׳ אֱלֹקיךָ נֹתֵן לָךְ׃
["Justice, justice you will pursue so that you will live and inherit the land which Hashem your God is giving you"]

Top image (tiny brain): לְמַעַן תִּחְיֶה וְיָרַשְׁתָּ אֶת־הָאָרֶץ אֲשֶׁר־ה׳ אֱלֹקיךָ נֹתֵן לָךְ
["so that you will live and inherit the land which Hashem your God is giving you"]
CHECKMATE LEFTISTS

Second image (brain growing): ** לְמַעַן **
תִּחְיֶה וְיָרַשְׁתָּ אֶת־הָאָרֶץ אֲשֶׁר־ה׳ אֱלֹקיךָ נֹתֵן לָךְ
[**so that** you will live and inherit the land which Hashem your God is giving you]

Third image (brain growing and glowing more): <in tiny font, curses in Devarim when b'nei Yisrael don't follow Hashem's commandments, which ultimately culminate in exile from the land>

Bottom image (enlightened galaxy brain): צִיּוֹן בְּמִשְׁפָּט תִּפָּדֶה וְשָׁבֶיהָ בִּצְדָקָה
["Zion will be redeemed with justice and her returnees with righteousness," Isaiah 1:27]

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Halachic Left @halachicleft.org · 11/08/2026

Thinking of starting a meme bank, gotta counteract these silly right-wing memes...

Tweet from @IlanBlock: image showing a Drake Hotline Bling Meme
top image [expressing approval/agreement]: "Justice, justice shall you pursue"
bottom image [expressing dislike/disapproval]: "so that you will live and take possession of the land that Hashem, your God, has given you"

Tweet from @VaadHaBadchanim: image showing a Drake Hotline Bling Meme
top image [expressing approval/agreement]: צֶדֶק צֶדֶק תִּרְדֹּף

bottom image [expressing dislike/disapproval]: לְמַעַן תִּחְיֶה וְיָרַשְׁתָּ אֶת־הָאָרֶץ אֲשֶׁר־יְהֹוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ נֹתֵן לָךְ

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Halachic Left @halachicleft.org · 09/08/2026

CHICAGO: come learn with us on Sunday, August 23! SIGN UP HERE: www.eventbrite.com/e/chicago-je...

Jewish Reckoning with Power
A Halachic Left Learning Series, Part 5 (Chicago)

Prof. Rachel Havrelock, Rabbi Will Friedman

Sunday, August 23, 11:00am-2:00pm CDT
SketchPad Chicago & via Zoom

Register Now

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Halachic Left @halachicleft.org · 07/08/2026

“I don’t know what the Israeli government is going to do,” [ @rabbijilljacobs.bsky.social] said. “But I think if they decide they’re going to start deporting American rabbis, that would basically be picking a very big public fight with the American Jewish community.” forward.com/news/843806/...

forward.com

Israel is revoking entry permits for U.S. activists involved in West Bank

Jewish volunteers who accompany Palestinian farmers during harvests say their travel authorizations vanished, sometimes while they were still in the country

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Reposted by Halachic Left

📖 Pre-order printed copies of our 5787 Tishrei reader! 🍎🍯🐏🍋🌿🌴🕺💃 $15/copy + shipping to US addresses (We are still releasing it online for free if you want to print it yourself!) www.paypal.com/ncp/payment/... Why pre-order? ... 🧵

Pre-order our reader for the fall chagim!
Swipe to see confirmed writers & pre-order info!

Confirmed writers:
Rana Bickel, Prof. Daniel Boyarin, Rabbi Vincent Calabrese, Rabbi Will Friedman, Binya Koatz, Rabbi David Polsky, Ya'aqov Shenkin, Laynie Soloman, Noam Weinreich, Rabbi Aron Wander, Prof. Sarah Wolf

Pre-order at bit.ly/tishrei-reader

Deadline: Sunday, Aug. 23
US addresses only

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A Letter To Modern Orthodox America

A LETTER TO MODERN ORTHODOX AMERICA by Sam Stein "I keep praying, hoping, and begging that the pain of a relative or former student or classmate will make you realize the pain and humanity of Palestinians. It has not worked yet, and it feels completely naive..."

samstein.substack.com

I do not want to broadcast my brief. But you have made it necessary.

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Why pre-order? * it helps us know how many copies to order and guarantees your copy * you get a nicely printed + bound copy to use for years to come * it helps us pay honoraria for our writers 💸 🌍 Outside the US? Email us and we’ll figure out international shipping rates.

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