Authors /
Mordechai Beck
Mordechai Beck is a journalist in Jerusalem.
The tree of God’s mysteries
The Jewish Kabbalah tradition offers a way of understanding God in the world—one that has profoundly influenced Christianity.
November 29, 2023
Golden Calf and consuming fire
“One day,” says Avivah Zornberg, “I had a flash of insight about Leviticus as a whole.”
December 6, 2022
A troubling new coalition in Israel
How will Netanyahu and his new allies govern? And what will become of the Israeli left?
November 21, 2022
Giving women a voice at the seder table
Poet and liturgist Marcia Falk attempts to correct the gender bias of the traditional Passover Haggadah.
April 14, 2022
Understanding Israeli prime minister Naftali Bennett
Fiercely Zionist yet pragmatic. Bold but not charismatic. The independent leader of a disparate coalition.
November 15, 2021
What will Israeli politics look like after Netanyahu?
The promises and dangers of Israel’s new coalition government
June 15, 2021
Getting to the Old City of Jerusalem—by cable car?
The proposed project may be good for tourism, but it brings dangers.
September 2, 2020
Can classical music come out of Nazareth?
Nabeel Ashkar has worked for years to bring Western art music to Arab young people in Galilee.
August 19, 2020
Why did Benny Gantz form a coalition government with Benjamin Netanyahu?
And will he regret it?
June 2, 2020
The story of Israeli prime minister Yitzak Rabin’s assassin
Incitement shows the roots of political fractures that remain.
January 6, 2020
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The sacred work of Jerusalem's Mekudeshet festival
When Jews, Christians, and Muslims gather to celebrate arts and culture, the dividing walls crumble.
May 17, 2018
What makes Israel a Jewish state?
Two Israelis, a lawyer and a rabbi, on the complicated relationship between religion and national identity
June 9, 2017
The other Jerusalem: Poverty and isolation in Arab neighborhoods
There is a sharp contrast between West Jerusalem and mostly Arab East Jerusalem. Along this political and economic divide, violence has erupted.
December 8, 2015
After ten years of debate, Jerusalem elects rabbis for its two top positions
After more than a decade of rancorous debates and court decisions over the election of two chief rabbis of Jerusalem, Aryeh Stern and Shlomo Amar were chosen for the roles....
December 1, 2014
Beginning to talk: An interview with Rabbi David Rosen
"While Israel has more interfaith activity pro-rata than anywhere else in the world, all such activity involves a tiny percent of the population."
June 5, 2014
The other in Israel: Orthodox rabbis reckon with Christianity
One rabbi noted that almost all heads of U.S. churches have visited Israel. And many of them have rethought attempts to convert Jews.
June 5, 2014