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Articles by Gary Epstein
For Some Sins There Is No Atonement
Please note that the posts on The Blogs are contributed by third parties. The opinions, facts and any media content in them are presented solely by the authors, and neither The Times of Israel nor its partners assume any responsibility for them. Please contact us in case of abuse. In case of abuse, Report this post. May the people of Israel become more considerate of one another My granddaughter has been blessed with a best friend whom she has loved since kindergarten.
For Some Sins There Is No Atonement
May the people of Israel become more considerate of one another My granddaughter has been blessed with a best friend whom she has loved since kindergarten. This friend will, God willing, be married this coming Sunday, b’sha’ah tova.
The Great Mistake of 1947?
All of the British efforts to establish a single state in which the rights of the two major resident communities could be protected had met insuperable obstacles. The demand for an independent, sovereign state for the minority religion was bitterly opposed by the majority. The only remaining avenue was partition. Partition itself, unfortunately, led to conflict. The formation of the new state heralded bitter violence, much bloodshed, and a bloody migration. Hordes of people crossed borders in panic.
The Great Mistake of 1947?
When the Community of Nations Makes a Bad Decision All of the British efforts to establish a single state in which the rights of the two major resident communities could be protected had met insuperable obstacles. The demand for an independent, sovereign state for the minority religion was bitterly opposed by the majority. The only remaining avenue was partition. Partition itself, unfortunately, led to conflict.
The Palestinians of Stonehenge
I freely admit that my view of the Middle East has been shaped by the environment in which I was raised–Jewish, Zionist, Western. I have been conditioned, perhaps indoctrinated, to believe that the Jews are the indigenous people of the Land of Israel.
The Palestinians of Stonehenge
UNESCO reveals the truth I freely admit that my view of the Middle East has been shaped by the environment in which I was raised–Jewish, Zionist, Western. I have been conditioned, perhaps indoctrinated, to believe that the Jews are the indigenous people of the Land of Israel.
The Eternal War of the Jews Against…Pigeons
[The following article, in a modified version, was previously published in my SubStack. Apologies to bird-lovers.] All of my grandchildren tolerate me. They adore my wife. I am their Grandpa and occasionally bestir myself to share my store of accumulated wisdom and abundant humor for their improvement and edification.
The Eternal War of the Jews Against…Pigeons
[The following article, in a modified version, was previously published in my SubStack. Apologies to bird-lovers.] All of my grandchildren tolerate me. They adore my wife. I am their Grandpa and occasionally bestir myself to share my store of accumulated wisdom and abundant humor for their improvement and edification.
The Spitting Image: An Unfortunate Editorial Choice
The Wall Street Journal printed a very long, and, in my view, very embarrassing, story about anti-Christian “spitting attacks” in Israel. It seems that a fairly small minority of unruly and undisciplined Israeli teenagers labor under the misimpression that spitting at or toward Christians is some sort of religious duty.
The Spitting Image: An Unfortunate Editorial Choice
Sometimes a news story is less than meets the eye The Wall Street Journal printed a very long, and, in my view, very embarrassing, story about anti-Christian “spitting attacks” in Israel. It seems that a fairly small minority of unruly and undisciplined Israeli teenagers labor under the misimpression that spitting at or toward Christians is some sort of religious duty.
Canine Hurrah! The Secret Annals of the Israeli Dog Rape Program
To: Nicholas Kristof From: Gary Epstein Re: Vindication I am sure that you are feeling besieged by all the attacks on your ground-breaking article about sexual abuse in Israeli prisons. You must be particularly sensitive to charges that you are a shoddy journalist with a long history of fabricating lurid sexually oriented fantasies. Your creative – if a bit dishonest – reporting on child brothels in Cambodia must be front of mind as you contemplate yet another enormous embarrassment. Remember?
The Torah and the Land
Parshat Bamidbar always precedes the holiday of Shavuot. Rabbi Sacks points out that the Torah was given in the desert, before we conquered Eretz Yisrael and made it our homeland. This is highly atypical. In the United States, the Founding Fathers did not write a Constitution while they were elsewhere and then build a country in which it could become the basis for their laws. The British did not draft the Magna Carta and then build a constitutional monarchy.
The Torah and the Land - Gary Epstein
Parshat Bamidbar always precedes the holiday of Shavuot. Rabbi Sacks points out that the Torah was given in the desert, before we conquered Eretz Yisrael and made it our homeland. This is highly atypical. In the United States, the Founding Fathers did not write a Constitution while they were elsewhere and then build a country in which it could become the basis for their laws. The British did not draft the Magna Carta and then build a constitutional monarchy.
Gary Epstein, at The Blogs
Gary Epstein is a retired teacher and lawyer residing in Modi'in, Israel. He was formerly the Head of the Global Corporate and Securities Department of Greenberg Traurig, an international law firm with an office in Tel Aviv, which he founded and of which he was the first Managing Partner. He and his wife Ahuva are blessed with 18 grandchildren, ka"h, all of whom he believes are well above average. [Update: . . . and, ka"h, one great-grandchild.] He currently does nothing. He believes he does it well.
The Biggest Tent: The Bigots’ Tent
After its traumatic collapse in the 2024 elections, the Democrat Party, doing some serious soul-searching, announced that it would conduct and publish a “post-mortem” analyzing the reasons for its defeat and providing suggestions for reversing the result in the future. The analysis was completed but never published, likely because it was determined that its publication would cause more harm and division than benefit.
The Biggest Tent: The Bigots’ Tent - Gary Epstein
After its traumatic collapse in the 2024 elections, the Democrat Party, doing some serious soul-searching, announced that it would conduct and publish a “post-mortem” analyzing the reasons for its defeat and providing suggestions for reversing the result in the future. The analysis was completed but never published, likely because it was determined that its publication would cause more harm and division than benefit.
The MOOPs Storm the Galil
After our expedition to the Shomron, it was inevitable that our surviving members who had no significant alternative plans or surgeries would be eager for another adventure. The Shomron trip had been a huge success and I was again looking forward to the extraordinary beauty of the mountains, valleys, flora, and fields of the Galil. The war intervened and the trip was postponed time and again; we were beginning to despair.
Can One Be Holy But Overweight?
I have just consulted with various rabbinic sources (i.e., the shul newsletter) to find out what time Ahuva will be lighting candles. Imagine my surprise and delight to discover that this week’s parsha was not just Achrei Mot, but also Kedoshim. Who knew? I was immediately reminded of my earlier years, when I was in graduate school, taking a course in Medieval Literature (which was only exceeded by the course in Linguistics for mind-numbing vapidity and boredom).
We Who Paid No Price: Time to Pay
Like modern Israel, I was born in 1948. She is young and vibrant; I am old and contemplative. I have always considered myself blessed to have been born in the US of A, a country hospitable to Jews, affording me opportunities and freedom to follow my dreams, to raise a family in my faith, to worship and observe as I desired, and to succeed at my chosen professions, relatively free of the obstacles and persecution imposed upon my people for millennia.
The reign in Spain is inane
Today, unfortunately, Spain is front of mind. For those of you unfamiliar with Spain, imagine Puerto Rico without the charm and culture. Its prime minister, a corrupt demagogue named Pedro Sanchez, has governed without a budget for three years despite having stated on the record his belief that an inability to pass a budget should trigger elections.
King Donald and the Black Mullahs
Please note that the posts on The Blogs are contributed by third parties. The opinions, facts and any media content in them are presented solely by the authors, and neither The Times of Israel nor its partners assume any responsibility for them. Please contact us in case of abuse. In case of abuse, Report this post.
Does Canada Have The Right To Exist?
Because the answer is so clear, I do not propose to engage in an extended analysis. Speaking to Canadians is boring. Listening to Canadians is monotonous and pedestrian. Reviewing the history of Canada is like watching paint dry. Monochrome paint. Flat white, non-glossy. Of course Canada does not have the right to exist and were anyone ever to think it worthwhile to attack, it would have no right to defend itself. It is stolen land, whose foundation is a bedrock of apartheid and persecution.
At War, Job Opportunities, and Dodging the Law
Embed from Getty Images While the present war has restricted my travel outside the apartment, because I don’t relish the idea of visiting a public shelter or reclining on the side of the road (I have a hard time just getting out of bed), I really don’t have much to complain about, given what other people are experiencing. I have a TV, computer, chair, and high-riser in the safe room. We have a shower with hot water, a toilet and a kitchen nearby. The supermarket delivers groceries.
Jewish, Proud, and Unapologetic
Embed from Getty Images One of the central commandments set forth in the Haggadah–right up there with the wine and the matzoh–is the Torah-based imperative to relate the story of the Exodus, and the Sages augmented the mitzvah by saying that anyone who elaborates on the story is praiseworthy. Accordingly, there is no shortage of entertaining, incisive, informative, and brilliant glosses on substantially every paragraph and concept in the Haggadah.
The Blogs: Least Abhorrent
Embed from Getty Images Disclaimer: Notwithstanding what you are about to read, I am not a neocon, an Islamophobe, a callous or insensitive monster, or a depraved, unethical, wicked, immoral, amoral dupe of Benjamin Netanyahu. I’m just tired.
The Blogs: Now or Never
Embed from Getty Images We want to live in peace. They want to kill us. If we lose, we die. If they lose, there will be peace. If we surrender, all is lost. If they surrender, the reconciliation and reconstruction can commence. After October 7 and the war with Iran, what was relatively clear previously has now become vividly obvious. We have no choice but to continue to a successful and victorious end. The alternative is gruesome annihilation in the most debased manner.
Ending with a Whimper
Please note that the posts on The Blogs are contributed by third parties. The opinions, facts and any media content in them are presented solely by the authors, and neither The Times of Israel nor its partners assume any responsibility for them. Please contact us in case of abuse. In case of abuse, Report this post. Embed from Getty Images [Home from the EU Summit, March 19, 2026, pictured above] Honey, I’m home. Oh, thank the Lord. It’s been so hectic here without you.
The Divine and Compassionate Editor
Please note that the posts on The Blogs are contributed by third parties. The opinions, facts and any media content in them are presented solely by the authors, and neither The Times of Israel nor its partners assume any responsibility for them. Please contact us in case of abuse. In case of abuse, Report this post. Embed from Getty Images Let’s short circuit the debate. God wrote the Torah. Not J. Not E. Not D. Not P. Not King Josiah or the priests who rediscovered Deuteronomy.
A History of Jewish Belonging
This piece first ran on our Substack, Reading Jewish History in the Parsha. We’re pleased to share it here on our website. Our identity is shaped by many forces—our character, beliefs, knowledge, relationships, experiences, and the dreams that guide us forward. Identity is also shaped by our sense of belonging. The larger groups to which we are bound play a powerful role in shaping who we are. These communities establish the fundamental values that shape our character and guide our moral compass.
In the Safe Room, Keeping Up With The News
After a dozen or so trips to the “safe room” in our apartment, the whole thing takes on a touch of unreality. Thank God, I have a desktop in the room that allows me to stay in touch with the world and provides some reassurance that it has not gone mad.
The Blogs: The Secret of Jewish Survival
Embed from Getty Images Spoiler alert. I’m telling you the answer in the next paragraph. You have experienced quite enough anxiety, what with the war and everything. You don’t need the stress of wondering when the answer will come and whether it will be sufficient to explain this monumentally implausible phenomenon. Here is the secret of Jewish survival: the people who hate us are idiots. More importantly, we know that the people who hate us are idiots.
The Blogs: President Trump Does Not Shop At Pier One
Embed from Getty Images My gut tells me that the joint US-Israeli strike against the evil Iranian regime is an event to be celebrated by all decent people. That feeling is reinforced tenfold by the cast of characters lamenting the “aggression”: Mamdani, Omar, Carlson, Owens, Greene. But it is always difficult to predict the outcome of complex events at their outset.
The Blogs: What's in a name?
Embed from Getty Images It could be worse. My family name could be Hitler. Or Biden-trump. Khameini. Torquemada. Or, shudder, Obama. At least with Epstein, upon introduction, after the familiar momentary pause, the slight smirk, and the question: “Any relation?” I can answer, “Yes. Thanks for asking. We are related to Baruch Halevi Epstein from Pinsk, the author of the Torah Temimah, and his father, Yechiel Michel Epstein, the author of the Aruch Hashulchan. But why are you asking me now?
The Blogs: Yitro 2.0
Embed from Getty Images [Explanatory note: The following text is a translation of a recently discovered manuscript fragment that appears to date from the third century BCE. Its form and content suggest that the authors intended to reach an audience that was familiar with canonical texts, using the Masoretic style, but espousing heterodox concepts.
The Blogs: Home, Homeland, and Dual Loyalty
Embed from Getty Images Home. I awaken for the second time, return to bed after prayer being the singular satisfaction of retirement, and I find the apartment empty. I recall that my estimable wife is making a shiva call in Ra’anana today–or was it yoga?–and I decide to prepare a special treat for myself. Two eggs over easy, eaten sitting down at the table with a real plate and real fork, as though it were a hotel breakfast (but for my attire, which must remain undisclosed).
The Blogs: Send a Message to the Haters
Please note that the posts on The Blogs are contributed by third parties. The opinions, facts and any media content in them are presented solely by the authors, and neither The Times of Israel nor its partners assume any responsibility for them. Please contact us in case of abuse. In case of abuse, Report this post. Embed from Getty Images Writers rely on the intelligence of their audiences. We assume a certain baseline literacy, vocabulary, comprehension, and reasoning ability.
The Blogs: Mea Culpa–It Was Me
Embed from Getty Images It was me. I did it–all of it. I was hoping to get away with it, but I might as well come clean so others will not be blamed. I know that Jew-hatred has persisted throughout the millennia in a broad cross-section of societies and across a swath of demographic and racial constituencies.
5 Ways Vayigash Rewrites Jewish Life in Diaspora
Your 18Forty Parsha Guide is a weekly newsletter exploring five major takeaways from the weekly parsha. Receive this newsletter every week in your inbox by subscribing here. Questions or feedback? Email Rivka Bennun Kay at Shabbosreads@18forty.org. Yaakov reaches Beersheba at night, halting his caravan at the edge of the land. He is an old man now, and his son Yosef—whom he mourned for 22 years—is alive in Egypt, a ruler second only to Pharaoh. The famine gnaws at Canaan. His grandsons are starving.
The Blogs: Zero Tolerance
Embed from Getty Images The horrors of the Bondi Beach massacre will not soon disappear from our collective consciousness. Many of the immediate responses seek to provide solace of a sort, if you are partial to responses that are calculated to make us feel a bit better but will not improve our situation one iota.
The Blogs: The MOOPs take the Shomron
Embed from Getty Images On December 7, a date which Frank Roosevelt said would live in infamy, 50 MOOP members set out for an excursion to the Shomron. Remarkably, all of them, as well as the Shomron, survived intact, and without international incident. For the uninitiated, MOOP is an acronym that I coined for Modi’in Organization of Old People. They actually refer to themselves as Modi’in Seniors, but MS sounds like a disease and the term “seniors” summons to my mind echoes of high school.
The Blogs: Dispose of the EuroTrash
Embed from Getty Images Spain, Ireland, Slovenia, and the Netherlands will boycott Eurovision-2026 because Israel will be allowed to compete in the song competition. The very notion that people with such abysmal track records would have the effrontery to purport to judge the morality of Israel is both ludicrous and disgusting. Upon reflection, perhaps we should be grateful that Israeli performers will not bear the taint of having to share a stage with representatives of these countries.
The Blogs: What Our Chinese Car Knew
Embed from Getty Images The failures of the IDF in the period preceding the October 7, 2023 assault were catastrophic. The military was not only outsmarted and outmaneuvered in advance of the conflict by an enemy it underestimated, but it failed to react effectively even after the attacks had commenced and then failed to acquit itself well throughout the initial phases of the war. That is bad. From the perspective of the military, what is even worse is how embarrassed they were.
The Blogs: Kristallnacht at Park East Synagogue
Embed from Getty Images On November 9, 1938, Nazi leaders unleashed a well-orchestrated, party-sanctioned riot, involving the vandalization of synagogues and attacks on Jews and their businesses. It became known as Kristallnacht and sent an ominous message of incipient catastrophe to the Jewish community and the world. The Jewish community and the world failed to take action that might have prevented the impending onslaught.
The Blogs: God of Our Mothers
Embed from Getty Images My Mom’s yahrzeit is 11 Kislev, two weeks from now. The observance of the anniversary of the death of a loved one always, presumably as intended, focuses one’s attention on the loss that has been incurred, as well as the gifts and memories that never fade. Like many Jewish mothers, my Mom exhibited boundless, unconditional love for her children, pure and uncomplicated faith, and inexhaustible determination in the performance of her family roles.
The Blogs: Money Does Not Bring Happiness; So You Might As Well Deposit It In Your Bank
Embed from Getty Images About 35 years ago, for about 20 months of my checkered career, I served as General Counsel to a $10 billion financial institution. Among my proudest professional accomplishments is the fact that no one at the bank went to jail when the government seized it a few months after I left (except the CEO, who never listened to me). So I fancy that I know a (very) little bit about bank economics and regulation.
The Blogs: Pure Evil
Embed from Getty Images When, based on Masoretic traditions, the Rabbis disapproved of Biblical figures, they pulled no punches in describing the depravity and low character exhibited by those villains. Even when the Torah provides anodyne or seemingly positive descriptions, the Rabbis discern and describe hidden references to deviance and perversion. Lavan kisses his fugitive nephew, Jacob, and the commentators suggest that he was searching for hidden jewelry.
The Blogs: Preview of the Trump Address
Embed from Getty Images To acknowledge his remarkable achievement in facilitating an end to this horrible war, President Donald Trump has been invited to address the Knesset. This is an altogether fitting and proper honor. In his inimitable way, President Trump was the indispensable catalyst that brought about the historic agreement to end the fighting and bring home the remaining hostages. Here is the speech he should make: “It is with great humility that I address the Knesset.
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