Welcome to my site

On this site you will find ideas and research that I have written about Judaism, the State of Israel, and the future of humanity. These themes are all interconnected. They are connected as a result of two of the most powerful events in the common history of the Jewish people and all of humanity since the Revelation at Sinai: namely the Holocaust and the creation of the State of Israel. There are two parallel forces at work in history, destruction and rebirth; and in our lifetime both of these forces broke their boundaries and flooded all of humanity in what the nation of Israel underwent. How will we respond to these giant events in the near future generations? The ideas and formed thoughts in response to this question will be found in these pages. I invite you all to read, and hope you find interest and challenge in the words.

Rabbi Michael Graetz

• Halakha and Midrash
  • Halakha
    • K’lal Yisrael: Which Is the K’lal and Which Is the Yisrael?
    • Medical Ethics and Halakha: The “right to medical treatment” in Jewish tradition
    • Military Service: an halakhic summary
  • Midrash
• Home
• Humanity Judaism & Zionism
  • How should we relate to texts of terror in the Torah?
  • Jabotinsky as Statesman and Leader of His Nation: How would he react to the problems of our time? Prof. Benzion Netanyahu
  • Political Involvement in Israeli Society
    • A reply to a response to our task in Israel
    • Internal Conflict in Israel
    • Our Task in Israel Speech to RA 1992
    • Response to the article on whither masorti
    • The Atomic Bomb and Zionism: unleashing the genie from the bottle
    • The Masorti Judaism Party – how to
    • Whither Masorti?
  • SOCIAL JUSTICE AND ISRAELI SOCIETY
  • The Alternate Concepts of National Narrative
  • The Black Swan and the Jews
• Ideas and Research
  • Bible Studies
    • Esther Revealed: Another Hidden Polemic in the Bible
    • THE PASSAGE OF TIME IN THE BOOK OF ESTHER: A CHART OF TIME REFERENCES
    • WAR AND PEACE IN THE TORAH
  • Essays
    • Sabbath and Festivals
      • A Commentary on the Passover Haggadah
      • The Omer and the First Fruits: Shavuot in history and in the present
      • Why is a “Foolish” Son Turned into a “Wicked” Son?
  • Inquire And Explore With Wisdom (Eccl. 1:13) A Torah Commentary
    • 0 Inquire And Explore With Wisdom – Thanks, Preface And Introduction
    • 1 Genesis בראשית
    • 2 Exodus שמות
    • 3 Leviticus ויקרא
    • 4 Numbers במדבר
    • 5 Deuteronomy דברים
  • Significant Events
    • A Yom Kippur War Diary
    • Yom Kippur War 30 Years Later
    • Yom Kippur War 40 Years Later
  • Theology
    • On Metaphors for God
• Spiritual Insights
  • Prayer
    • A Driver’s Prayer
    • A Driver’s Prayer: the Rationale
    • Song “A Prayer for Peace”
  • Ruah Ha-Kodesh
    • Kedushat ha-Hayyim (responses) also Living in Israel
    • The concept “Kedushat Ha-Hayyim”
• Study Sessions
• The Human Genome and Ethical Issues: An Halakhic Perspective