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Francis Nataf

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May 18, 2018, 1:56 PM

Would Ruth be accepted as a convert today?

Ruth on the fields of Boaz by Julius Schnorr von Carolsfeld (cropped) (Cc via Wikipedia)

If you really understand Jewish law, you know that legal categories do not address every case in the same way

Apr 17, 2018, 4:19 PM

Letting go of the old Israel: A talmudic insight about 70 years

The famous story of Honi the Circle-Maker has a profound hidden message for what it means to be 70 years old

Sep 1, 2017, 2:28 AM

Yeshayahu Leibowitz’s forgotten Yahrzeit

In recent years, the yahrzeit of Rav A Y Kook (last week) has turned into a real happening. That is neither surprising nor undeserved. Rav Kook was a brilliant and independent thinker who spanned many different worlds. Of course,...

Aug 22, 2017, 11:22 PM

Robert E. Lee and the month of Elul

Humanity's cultural yardstick of values is fickle; better to uphold the personalized standards of God

Jul 23, 2017, 2:16 PM

A time for Jewish rage

Yosef Salomon, 70, his daughter Chaya Salomon, 46, seen at a recent family celebration. They were stabbed to death on July 21, 2017 in a terrorist attack at Halamish. (Courtesy)

It's an ethical obligation to the Palestinians to insist that they reclaim their humanity before God

Jul 3, 2017, 4:12 PM

Let’s give the Kotel to Chabad

Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson (Mordecai Baron/Wikipedia)

The Lubavitchers would get it right because they truly seek to help, and hence accommodate, all Jews

Jun 19, 2017, 11:47 AM

Political rage and Rabbi Eliezer Hagadol

Investigators search the bags that have been left behind at the Eugene Simpson Stadium Park where a shooting took place on June 14, 2017 in Alexandria, Virginia. (Alex Wong/Getty Images/AFP)

The tale of Rabbi Eliezer Hagadol asks what happens when you're clearly in the minority -- and you're clearly right

Apr 10, 2016, 1:30 PM

Bernie, won’t you please come home? A Passover invitation to Bernie Sanders

The presidential hopeful should visit Israel now to demonstrate how much he truly cares about the Jewish community

Dec 20, 2015, 2:22 PM

An open letter to the leaders of Open Orthodoxy

The new approach has great strengths, but don't be so open-minded, as the saying goes, that your brains fall out

Dec 10, 2015, 3:08 PM

10 things I admire about Open Orthodoxy

The new approach has its problems, but first a look at its strengths: vibrancy, honesty, spirituality and more

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About Me

Rabbi Francis Nataf is a Jerusalem-based educator and thinker. He is the author of the Redeeming Relevance series on the Torah and of many articles.