Weekly Highlights: Netanyahu on trial * I’m not afraid of Christian TV * Loving the convert: A national priority * SHAVUOT INSIGHTS: Alone at Si nai * R. Akiva and hope

[The Blogs]( [The Marketplace of Ideas]( Weekly Highlights Thursday, May 28, 2020 shavuot Insights [Going to Sinai without community]( By [Elana Stein Hain]( [The COVID version of Judaism is profound, but we are missing the communal ritual that doesn’t care about us as individuals — and buoys us through the shared experience nonetheless]( shavuot thoughts [The donkey, the rooster and the lamp: A lockdown story]( By [Eli Birnbaum]( [The tale of Rabbi Akiva’s unfortunate night in a field may seem simple, but a deeper dive reveals a massive tragedy – and a hopeful message for humanity]( [David Brofsky]( [Loving the convert: A national priority]( [A wall of bureaucracy (at best) is no way to welcome those who are committed to Judaism and the Jewish people; plus, it contradicts Israel’s past chief rabbis’ traditional approach]( [CRM]( [Amir Fuchs]( [A prime minister on trial: questions and answers]( [How long will the proceedings take? What about immunity? And has there ever been a sitting PM anywhere who faced criminal charges? (Yes, one)]( [Todd Berman]( [Why I’m not afraid of a Christian TV network]( [As a traditionalist, I understand and even respect their theological approach and thank them for their support for the State of Israel]( [Shlomit Shahino-Kesler]( [Housing Minister Litzman will be good for secular Israelis]( [Expanding affordable housing for ultra-Orthodox Israelis means a bigger pie for all Israelis and less tension over haredi ’encroachment’]( [‘I wish they would close all the shuls!’]( By [Ilana Spitz Epstein]( [I was never a big fan of prayer – my mind wanders, I make deals with God – but this pandemic has upped my role in helping others ’do Jewish,’ and it’s been good for me too]( [Sally Abrams]( [There’s no substitute for Jewish summer camp]( [It’s not an exaggeration to say that two summers at Herzl Camp in Wisconsin made me want to live a Jewish life]( [Homesteading]( By [Jessica Steinberg]( [Stuck at home, a surplus of fresh spring vegetables was the start of many culinary adventures, but none so valuable as relaxing over the bounty with family]( Choice voices [Naomi Chazan]( [The annexation time bomb]( [There’s a connection between Netanyahu being on trial and his inclination to carry out the symbolic act of extending Israeli sovereignty]( [Carole Nuriel]( [Decoding the dark side of anti-lockdown protests]( [When extremist groups like the Three Percenters and Proud Boys wield guns and call officials ’tyrants,’ they are signalling a cry to resistance]( [Jennifer Raskas]( [John Locke, COVID-19, and the second tablets]( [The coronavirus has shattered my expectations around school, work, healthcare, and more; I am now looking for a new social contract, one with a foundation in compassion]( [Yoav Degani]( [Beware COVID-19 privacy invasion creep]( [People will tell themselves these are life-saving measures – but once privacy is taken away, it often cannot be fully restored]( [Sheldon Kirshner]( [Appalling Nazi headstones should be removed]( [Swastikas adorn the graves of 2 German soldiers who died in the US during WWII and were buried in American military cemeteries]( [Julio Messer]( [Intellectual inconsistency on annexation]( [Alan Solow’s suggestion that US Jews should speak out against Israel imposing what it deems a defensible eastern border is morally troubling]( [Unsubscribe from this List]( © 2020 THE TIMES OF ISRAEL, All Rights Reserved