HeyJaredReturn to Zion
Reflections on Zionism, Torah, and Politics for the Jewish present
- Indexed issues, last 90 days
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- Sep 17, 2026
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You Can't Buy a Good Year, and Neither Can Israel (opens the original)
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Friends,As Yom Kippur approaches, we want to know that the coming year will be good, that our families will be safe, and that our country will be secure. But there are no guarantees, and the High Holidays are meant to remind us of that. We cannot control the decree. All we can do is take responsibility for what we have done and for the world we have made. The essay asks what it would mean for us, and for Israel, to take that seriously.I also recently appeared on the J Street podcast, where I tal
When God Permits Everything (opens the original)
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Dear friends,Having arrived in Israel less than a week ago, I have spent most of my time trying to adjust back to ordinary life before the school year begins. In America, it was possible, at least on some level, to distance myself from the realities here. Once I returned, however, they quickly became impossible to ignore.In particular, I continue to be deeply haunted by the settler violence taking place throughout the West Bank. These attacks are documented almost daily in photographs and videos
We Can No Longer Claim Innocence (opens the original)
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Friends,My time in America is soon coming to an end. If you happen to be in the DC area this shabbat, I will be scholar-in-residence at Ohev Shalom: The National Synagogue. I also had the opportunity recently to be on the podcast Not That Kind of Rabbi to speak about Zionism In Crisis. I suggest you check it out here. Shabbat Shalom,Rabbi Zach Truboff<a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!55td!,f_auto,q_auto:g
The One Day Jews Are Forbidden to Be Victims (opens the original)
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Friends,I will be in the US for the next four or five weeks, so I expect to be writing a bit less than usual over that stretch. With Tisha B’Av approaching, today’s essay begins with something I witnessed in an American shul on the first Tisha B’Av after October 7, and what it taught me about the one thing the day refuses to let us be.Kol tuv,Rabbi Zach Truboff<a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!nUk6!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/
A Jewish State, If You Can Keep It (opens the original)
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Friends,I recently appeared on the podcast Identity Crisis, hosted by Yehuda Kurtzer, the president of Shalom Hartman North America, to discuss Zionism in Crisis: Jewish Power and Moral Responsibility After October 7. We discuss how Israelis have grappled with war, trauma, and the responsibilities of power, and whether Zionism has adequately reckoned with its own vulnerabilities and failures. I argue that retaining a sense of victimhood precludes the possibility of agency and that Zionism must u
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