BARBARA'S TCHATZKAHS

By Tali Loewenthal Kindness is often presented as a central virtue of the Jewish people. Abraham, the hero of our parshah, together with his wife Sarah, is a paradigm of kindness. One sees their hospitality to wayfarers at the beginning of the parshah, and later G-d says that He loves Abraham because "he will instruct his household after him to keep the way of G-d, doing charity and justice" (Genesis 18:19). "Charity and justice" signify acts of kindness, and the Talmud cites this verse when it declares that there are three distinguishing features of the Jewish people, the descendants of Abraham: They are 1) modest, 2) merciful, and they 3) do acts of kindness. "Anyone who has these qualities," the Talmud goes on to say, "is fit to join the Jewish people." There are different opinions among the Sages as to whether these qualities are natural to the Jewish people or are special "gifts" from G-d. It is also clear that they are ideals t...

by Gil Hoffman Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu's nemesis, Vice Premier Silvan Shalom, continued his recent shift to the Right on Monday when he visited the Cave of the Patriarchs in Hebron. Shalom was received warmly in Hebron, where Netanyahu withdrew IDF forces from most of the city when he was prime minister in 1997. In what was interpreted as an attack on Netanyahu, Shalom said he believed the settlements around Hebron were a bloc that must permanently remain under Israeli control. He also criticized the government's handling of the ongoing Arab violence in Jerusalem. He said it was intolerable that even though the Temple Mount was under Israeli control, Israeli forces had to constantly work to protect Jews in the area. "I have gone up to the Temple Mount in the past, and Jews have a right to go there," Shalom told a large crowd at the Cave of the Patriarchs. "The events at the Temple Mount today must serve as a wake-up call for everyone. We are the soverei...