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David-Seth Kirshner

David-Seth Kirshner

The Times of Israel (Blogs)

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Streams of Anxious Consciousness 48

25.11.2023 20

The Times of Israel (Blogs)

David-Seth Kirshner

Streams of Anxious Consciousness 43

20.11.2023 20

The Times of Israel (Blogs)

David-Seth Kirshner

Streams of Anxious Consciousness 35

In a few minutes I am boarding a plane to Israel. I have never been more frightened. I do not scare easily. If you are reading this and have never met...

11.11.2023 30

The Times of Israel (Blogs)

David-Seth Kirshner

Streams of Anxious Consciousness 31

Much of my life and education has been shaped by cinema. One of the great classics for me is the Godfather. Two ideas from this movie have been on my...

07.11.2023 20

The Times of Israel (Blogs)

David-Seth Kirshner

Streams of Anxious Consciousness – 30

My family asked me when I would stop writing these Streams. I replied, when I no longer have something to share. Thus, I continue. I know it helps me...

06.11.2023 10

The Times of Israel (Blogs)

David-Seth Kirshner

Streams of Anxious Consciousness XXIX

Hamas has been cooking up a pot of hypocrisy and lies and the world is eating up all they are serving. When did society develop an appetite for crap...

06.11.2023 10

The Times of Israel (Blogs)

David-Seth Kirshner

Streams of Anxious Consciousness XXVIII

Hassan Nasrallah, leader of Hizbollah’s long anticipated speech was more valuable than on face value. It was a blustery rant and fearful admission...

04.11.2023 20

The Times of Israel (Blogs)

David-Seth Kirshner

Streams of Anxious Consciousness XXVII

A fantastic video has been circulating the air waves. It is a must-watch clip! A young “good trouble” maker walked around New York City holding a...

03.11.2023 10

The Times of Israel (Blogs)

David-Seth Kirshner

Streams of Anxious Consciousness XXVI

They got him. The violence inciter on the campus of Cornell threatening to gruesomely kill Jewish students and causing students to convert dorm rooms...

03.11.2023 5

The Times of Israel (Blogs)

David-Seth Kirshner

Streams of Anxious Consciousness XXV

Shortly after the October 7th attack, I published three succinct talking points that I believed every major Jewish organization should have been...

01.11.2023 9

The Times of Israel (Blogs)

David-Seth Kirshner

Streams of Anxious Consciousness XXIV

SOAC 24 I am penning this note from Poland. To be here now is in and of itself, surreal. To visit a painful Jewish memory while we have large and...

01.11.2023 5

The Times of Israel (Blogs)

David-Seth Kirshner

Streams of Anxious Consciousness XXIII

Today I am sharing three disparate thoughts which are indeed streams of consciousness that have me quite anxious. I will start with a controversial...

31.10.2023 20

The Times of Israel (Blogs)

David-Seth Kirshner

Streams of Anxious Consciousness XXII

My definition of fanaticism is when people manipulate words or weaponize religion for unintended intent. Fanatics are running rampant and co-opting...

30.10.2023 60

The Times of Israel (Blogs)

David-Seth Kirshner

Streams of Anxious Consciousness XXI

As I start the 21st episode of Streams of Anxious Consciousness, I have lost track of what I have already said, or maybe I just thought it and never...

29.10.2023 6

The Times of Israel (Blogs)

David-Seth Kirshner

Streams of Anxious Consciousness XX

I marveled at colleagues who hours after October 7th turned to text and tradition for solace and answers. I was not there. I was too filled with rage,...

28.10.2023 30

The Times of Israel (Blogs)

David-Seth Kirshner

Streams of Anxious Consciousness XIX

These streams of anxious consciousness are really an expression of my feelings. They are raw, sometimes undigested, but sincere and authentic. I...

27.10.2023 40

The Times of Israel (Blogs)

David-Seth Kirshner

Streams of Anxious Consciousness XVII

The scariest scene in the movie Schindler’s List, for me, was when the Jewish residents of Krakow were forced from their homes with only what they...

24.10.2023 4

The Times of Israel (Blogs)

David-Seth Kirshner

Streams of Anxious Consciousness XVI

I try and write these Streams of Anxious Consciousness each day. I do not use canned materials or pen them days in advance. Like a good chef, I want...

24.10.2023 10

The Times of Israel (Blogs)

David-Seth Kirshner

Stream of Anxious Consciousness XV

There is a curious case of dissonance when it comes to antisemitism in the Western world. Much of today’s Stream of Anxious Consciousness is...

23.10.2023 10

The Times of Israel (Blogs)

David-Seth Kirshner

Streams of Anxious Consciousness XIV

As the sun sets marking another week since the tragedy of October 7th, my anxiety and fatigue are wrestling with one another. One thing I am becoming...

22.10.2023 20

The Times of Israel (Blogs)

David-Seth Kirshner

Streams of Anxious Consciousness XIII

Albert Einstein once defined the Jewish people as having a fanatical pursuit of justice. It was a great characterization of our tribe. Meanwhile, our...

21.10.2023 20

The Times of Israel (Blogs)

David-Seth Kirshner

Streams of Anxious Consciousness XII

There is a fantastic paradox brewing. As one congregant told me, “Rabbi, I am so worried about antisemitism. It is going to skyrocket. It already...

20.10.2023 30

The Times of Israel (Blogs)

David-Seth Kirshner

Streams of Anxious Consciousness XI

On the day they appointed Rabbi Elazar, they removed the guard from the study hall and allowed anyone who wished to enter. When Rabban Gamliel was in...

19.10.2023 30

The Times of Israel (Blogs)

David-Seth Kirshner

A Stream of Anxious Consciousness X

In football parlance it is said, ‘Offense wins games, defense wins Super Bowls.’ The idea being that the better the defense, the better the...

18.10.2023 20

The Times of Israel (Blogs)

David-Seth Kirshner

Streams of Anxious Consciousness IX

The sheer confusion for so many educated people about if and how they can take a stand on this issue, is mind blowing. We are not adding integers...

17.10.2023 30

The Times of Israel (Blogs)

David-Seth Kirshner

Streams of Anxious Consciousness VIII

It only took eight days for the keyboard commandos to come forward in full force, hiding under the shelter of a screen and a camouflaged name, and...

16.10.2023 20

The Times of Israel (Blogs)

David-Seth Kirshner

Streams of Anxious Consciousness VII

The Shabbat has come and gone. With the sun setting, a new moon has waxed. It is called a bitter moon because of the deflation we experience after the...

15.10.2023 30

The Times of Israel (Blogs)

David-Seth Kirshner

Sing from the Same Hymnal

One of the challenges with an overly saturated Jewish Communal Network is that messaging gets muddy. Yes, we are ALL on the same page, but we do not...

13.10.2023 10

The Times of Israel (Blogs)

David-Seth Kirshner

Hug a Rabbi

As we enter a Shabbat of immense pain, a word to congregants and community members, worldwide. Please indulge me to share this lesson with you in a...

13.10.2023 10

The Times of Israel (Blogs)

David-Seth Kirshner

Stream of Anxious Consciousness V

I wish I could say that reality is getting easier. In fact, it is quite harder. The names surfacing are attached to pictures which are connected to...

12.10.2023 20

The Times of Israel (Blogs)

David-Seth Kirshner

Streams of Anxious Consciousness IV

My “rabbi” on most things Israel, Yossi Klein HaLevi, wrote a reminder in the Atlantic this week about the tragedy masterminded by Samir Kunta...

11.10.2023 20

The Times of Israel (Blogs)

David-Seth Kirshner

Streams of Anxious Consciousness III

My mind is racing. It won’t settle down. So many feelings all bubble to the surface. Anger. Pain. Frustration. Revenge. Hatred. Disgust. Sadness....

10.10.2023 10

The Times of Israel (Blogs)

David-Seth Kirshner

Streams of Anxious Consciousness II

The numbers on our side are more than we can bear. Each person represents a family, grieving parents, siblings, community, friends, significant others...

10.10.2023 20

The Times of Israel (Blogs)

David-Seth Kirshner

A Stream of Anxiety-ness

Eventually, Israel will regulate its breathing and start to metabolize the indigestible. Questions will fester about failures and security breakdowns...

08.10.2023 20

The Times of Israel (Blogs)

David-Seth Kirshner

Senator Menendez, Please Sit Down!

Bob Menendez should step down from his Senate seat. To be clear, I voted for Menendez twice. Few people in the history of the Senate have been better...

28.09.2023 5

The Times of Israel (Blogs)

David-Seth Kirshner

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