Launching this newsletter is the first step in what has been a personal project for more than ten years in the making. It began as a desire to publish a book against distortions of various verses by missionaries but soon grew into far more. As the project expanded, one potential book grew into two, then four, then a whole series. Sadly, this was something I did not have time to engage in at the same time as teaching full-time in Yeshiva, on top of communal duties. So, I worked on this project here & there, but much of it would inevitably be relegated to dusty drawers once summer breaks were over. That is when I had summer breaks to work on it in the first place.
The world is very different today than when I first embarked on this journey. There's no more need to come out with an already written book or completed website, as so much of what is being consumed is bite-size and piecemeal. Since it's now a viable option to publish article by article or chapter by chapter, it's time to formally begin what was first dreamt up over a decade ago.
What to expect
I will be publishing articles in a rotation, with some features being more frequent and others less so due to the extensive work required and the length of the resulting pieces. Here's the content planned over the next few years:
Attacks on Torah & Jewish Practices
Debunking point by point the various attacks on the text of the Torah by the Annotated Skeptics and others, using classical sources.
A thorough and modern debunking of the Documentary Hypothesis.
Explaining & defending Jewish practices, such as kapparot, circumcision, etc.
Discussing issues that affect the modern Haredi world, such as education.
Xianity & Islam
A refutation, verse by verse, of the 300 or so textual "proofs" used by missionaries to try and convert Jews.
Articles explaining the Jewish position on Mashiach, Olam Haba, and related subjects, all according to classical sources.
Discussing & debunking the Islamic link to Jerusalem & Eretz Yisrael.
Highlight all of the appropriations from Judaism, extant or otherwise, in both Xianity & Islam.
Antisemitism
Explaining & debunking antisemitic memes.
Debunking fake/out-of-context Talmud quotes.
"The Torah's View On"
Articles such as "the Torah's view on Abortion/Gun Rights/Immigration/etc." through a classical Rabbinical lens, written with an even-handed approach to display the gamut of opinions as objectively as possible.
Jewish & Israeli History
Articles highlighting lesser-known episodes of Jewish history or events generally glossed over.
Life in the Pre-State Ottoman empire, including the relationship between the Zionist & Orthodox community, as well as a detailed history of the early armed conflicts between Jews & Arabs, and the groups involved.
Misc
Some of the Twitter threads rewritten in article form with footnotes, as well as other, you guessed it, miscellaneous articles that do not fit neatly in the other categories.
The future
Once everything operates smoothly, the next objective will be to launch podcast & video content for material better served by a more engaging medium than text, as well as the eventual publication of the expended material in book form as well as a Wikipedia-style archive for convenient access in the fight against antisemitism.
I'm also currently discussing with a few other Rabbis to begin an official non-profit organization, hire staff and increase the output of material if there's a positive enough response that would make it a realistic endeavor for all of us to get involved.
Ultimately, we make plans, and G-d laughs. So, we'll see. Hopefully, you join me in this venture, as your input will be vital as far as the direction of this project goes.