Korach, who resented direction, led a popular rebellion. Like all rebels he purported to take up the cause of the people. And like all rebels, his cause was neither real nor beneficial to the people.
Korach, “assembled against Moses and Aaron, and said to them, “You take too much upon yourselves, …
Life Is Beautiful, Sh'lach L'chah, Tragedy »
Sh’lach: Bad News
Why is bad news so ubiquitous? Wherever we turn we seem to hear another piece of bad news. This one has cancer, that one broke an arm, another lost his job, and another’s home was flooded. Why is there so much bad news?
The truth is that there is much more good news than bad news, but we need to dig to find it. Cregg Easterbrook wrote a book called ‘It’s Better Than It Seems,’ in which he chronicles all the reasons why life, by any standard, is better today than it was twenty, let alone fifty, years ago. But we need to dig to find it. Gun violence is down, terrorism is down, pollution is down, poverty is down, by every metric (except for greenhouse gasses) life is better than ever. So why is there so much bad news? Read the full story »
B’haalotcha: Club Rules
The Hand-Book
When you first join a club, you obey all the club rules; you never make excessive noise and never smoke in public places. Yet, seniors at the club play fast and easy with rules, why is that? On your first day of high-school, you study the student-hand-book and …
Beha’alotcha: The Travel Codes
G-d developed travel codes in the desert to instruct the nation on when to gather and when to travel. There were approximately two million Jews traveling across the desert and it would have been impossible for a human voice to be heard over the din. G-d established a musical code …
Naso: To be Lifted
To celebrate the inauguration of the tabernacle, the Jewish tribal princes made several key contributions. Among them were four wagons and eight oxen to transport the sacred vessels across the desert. When the Jews would travel in the desert, the Levites would disassemble the tabernacle and transport it, using these …
Bamidbar: Count for Something
G-d instructed Moses to take a census of the Jewish people in the desert. In all, G-d told Moses to count the Jews three times in a forty-year period. Rashi, the famed eleventh century biblical commentator, explained that G-d counts the Jews because He loves them.[1]
This statement makes it sound …
B’har B’chukotai: True Freedom
Freedom is one of humanity’s fundamental goas. Ever since Moses trumpeted the call, “let my people go,” people the world over valued and treasured freedom. Yet we sometimes apply freedom too narrowly. When we see a person indentured into servitude we chafe at the unfairness of it. When we see …
Emor: Effective Perspective
Perspective is the key ingredient in life. Some people take the perspective that life owes them. Others take the perspective that no one owes them anything. The former, do nothing to help themselves, the latter do all that they can to help themselves. In our generation, too many are growing …
Acharei Mot Kedoshim: Chai to Life
We are all familiar with chai, the Hebrew word for life. Chai has a numeric value of eighteen, which is why it is common for Jews to donate to charity in multiples of eighteen. The Talmud tells us that charity saves us from premature death.[1] When we donate in multiples …
Tazria Mezora: Judging from Past Behavior
Past behavior is often a harbinger of the future, but to judge fairly we must consider the very latest episode of the past behavior. I was once at a wedding, where the groom’s elderly venerated teacher danced with vigor and joy, and his many students, their eyes sparkling with admiration …
Parsha Insights »
Masei: Learning from Temptation
Every Segment Counts
This week’s Torah portion reviews the forty-two journeys that our ancestors made through the desert. The Baal Shem Tov taught that every one of these segments represents a stage in our individual journey through life and our quest for spiritual fulfillment.
Yearly Cycle »
Passover: Discovering Your Self Worth
Self Worth and Self Esteem
Have you ever wondered about the difference between self worth and self esteem? They sound like one and the same, but according to Dr. Christina Hibbert,[1] there is a subtle difference. And as it is with all subtle differences, once we discover them, we realize that …
Concepts »
Tetzveh: Good to the Last Drop
Are you a first drop or a last drop kind of person? When you squeeze an olive, the first drop is the purest, the last drop is extracted from the dregs. A first drop kind of person, is a perfectionist; one who strives for purity and the best in all …
Rabbi’s Desk »
Festival Shabbat: Show Respect
United Airlines
Social media is abuzz with the terrible story that occurred on United Airlines several days ago. Dr, Dao, a 69 year old physician on a flight from Chicago to Louisville, was physically dragged off a plane after being beaten by three police officers. The physician’s crime was refusing to …
