Halachic Left

04/10/2026

"It has been six months since the cease-fire was announced in Gaza, when the war was officially stopped. But it hasn’t stopped, not really. The Israeli airstrikes are less constant, but they still kill us — there was a drone strike that killed a man and injured a child just this week. When I talk to people abroad, they ask me if I can still hear Israeli drones at night. Once, I tried to record the buzzing as one hovered above my home, proof of the sound that has become a part of Gaza the way the sound of my own breathing is a part of me."

Six month’s after the cease-fire, ordinary Gazans contemplate their future while living with the wounds of war.

03/30/2026

סַנְהֶדְרִין הַהוֹרֶגֶת אֶחָד בְּשָׁבוּעַ נִקְרֵאת חָבְלָנִית. רַבִּי אֶלְעָזָר בֶּן עֲזַרְיָה אוֹמֵר, אֶחָד לְשִׁבְעִים שָׁנָה
A Sanhedrin that executes a transgressor once in 7 years is a destructive tribunal. R Elazar ben Azarya says: once in 70 years. Mishnah Makkot 1:10--

Experts say the law was written in such a way as to ensure that it was unlikely to ever apply to Jewish extremists who commit similar crimes.

03/23/2026

✨ Our 5786 Pesach reader, “כי ישאלך בנך מחר” / “When Your Child Asks You in Days to Come” is now available! See download options on our website: https://www.halachicleft.org/torah

Featuring essays from Raphael Magarik, Rabbi Margo Hughes-Robinson, Liana Wertman, Rabbi David Polsky, Rabbi Aryeh Bernstein, Amit Gvaryahu, and Maya Rosen, and illustrations by Yavni Bar-Yam. Edited by Yavni Bar-Yam, Rabbi Lexie Botzum, Max Buchdahl, Rebecca Kleinbart, and Noam Weinreich.

PS -- if you're in the US and interested in buying a printed copy to arrive before Pesach, we might have a few extra. Join the waitlist to be notified! https://forms.gle/9s4ddv6eUCzNtoMX7 (and join our email list so you can pre-order next time 😁)

03/03/2026

A freilichen Purim to these brave refusers at ! We’re overwhelmed by the amount of support for our shalach manos campaign — more than $6000 raised! 💰💸💵 Extra money will go towards legal counsel and community support 💜
Enjoy these photos of them receiving their packages, which included honey from and produce from !