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March 25, 2024 – 8:50 pm | Comments Off on Why We Must Resist The Cease Fire Resolution48 views

Tzav: Fighting Evil
We are surrounded by evil; every so often, it rears its ugly head as it did on Simchat Torah—the October 7 massacre. Pure evil raped Jewish mothers, burned Jewish babies alive, mutilated their fathers, and beheaded their neighbors. Pure evil burned loving couples clinging to each other, to …

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Articles by Lazer Gurkow

Rabbi Lazer Gurkow began his career at the tender age of fifteen when he was invited to congregations the world over to deliver guest sermons and to lead services. Rabbi Gurkow received his Rabbinic ordination through the Chabad Yeshiva system and was ordained in 1995 at the United Lubavitcher Yeshiva in Brooklyn, New York. With his easy, informal manner of presentation, Rabbi Gurkow engages his audience and leads them on provocative journeys of thought. He has lectured on many topics and was invited to speak to audiences Israel, Europe, Australia and throughout North America. Gifted with the ability to present the complicated in easily understood language, Rabbi Gurkow has lectured successfully to University students and community groups. A prolific writer, he is the author of more than six hundred articles that appear regularly in both on line and print publications. He is the author of a weekly Torah essay that is distributed via email and is published on numerous websites. He is the author of www.innerstream.org, a web site devoted to presenting the inner stream of meaning within Torah and he was a long-standing Scholar in Residence with Askmoses.com. Rabbi Gurkow serves as Rabbi to Congregation Beth Tefilah and resides in London Ontario with his wife and five children. Rabbi Gurkow is available to lecture to your community and is prepared to tailor his talk to the needs of your audience. You can reserve Rabbi Gurkow for an evening lecture on the subject of your choice or for a full Shabbaton weekend. For more information or to learn more about Rabbi Gurkow's lecture titles and fees you may contact him directly at rabbi@innerstream.org.

B’har: Going on Holiday

May 10, 2012 – 2:31 pm | Comments Off on B’har: Going on Holiday7,370 views
holiday

Sabbatical
I love the Sabbath, I really do. It’s a twenty-four hour break from monotony. The tedium of routine that constitutes our week can wear us down. The Sabbath is like going on holiday. It rides in on Friday evening, like a knight in shining armor, to save us from ourselves.

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Why Doesn’t G-d Make Miracles Anymore?

May 7, 2012 – 1:48 am | Comments Off on Why Doesn’t G-d Make Miracles Anymore?3,550 views
splitting the river

A Holiday for Every Miracle
Almost every miracle in Jewish history has a holiday. It is an ingenious way of keeping history alive. Jewish children don’t need a history lesson to tell you when G-d gave the Ten Commandments or when our ancestors left Egypt. They don’t need to learn it, …

K’doshim: Is Crossbreeding Permitted?

April 29, 2012 – 4:49 am | Comments Off on K’doshim: Is Crossbreeding Permitted?4,257 views
is crossbreeding permitted innerstream

Crossbreeding
Throughout history farmers and breeders experimented with crossbreeding seeking the most enduring specimen. Despite the popularity of this practice we Jews must ask, is crossbreeding permitted?

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Shemini: Pre Determinism or Free Choice

April 25, 2012 – 10:11 pm | Comments Off on Shemini: Pre Determinism or Free Choice4,283 views
free choice - innerstream

If G-d Knew…
When Nadav and Avihu, sons of Aaron, passed away in their prime Moses intimated that their passing was foretold by G-d. [1] Our problem is this: if G-d had foreknowledge of their death, He must have had foreknowledge of the sin for which they died, [2] which raises …

Tazria Metzora: Do We Really Have Free Choice?

April 22, 2012 – 3:36 am | Comments Off on Tazria Metzora: Do We Really Have Free Choice?5,960 views
Constitution-we-the-people

When We Are Free
Those among us raised in free societies, whose earliest impressions were molded by values of democracy, cherish the principle of free choice. We believe deeply that the freedom to choose is integral to the human condition and we intuitively reject notions of pre-determinsm.
We cannot stomach the idea …

Say No to Linen

April 1, 2012 – 3:07 am | Comments Off on Say No to Linen4,075 views
Shaatnez

The Mixture of Wool and Linen
Why are Jews forbidden to wear garments that contain wool and linen? A typical Jewish response would be, “Why ask why?” And truthfully such a response isn’t far off the mark. (1) This prohibition is known as a chok, Hebrew for edict, a law for …

Tzav: A Flame From Above

March 25, 2012 – 4:32 am | Comments Off on Tzav: A Flame From Above4,880 views
Flame from HEaven

Vitality
How did Moses survive for forty days on Mount Sinai without food? (1) Many shrug off question with, “it was a miracle.” But actually, the very fact that we ask the question demonstrates the limitation of our perception.
We are accustomed to deriving nourishment from food, but we never wonder why …

Vayikra: When You Really Feel Like Helping

March 18, 2012 – 2:29 am | Comments Off on Vayikra: When You Really Feel Like Helping2,884 views
when you really feel like helping - innerstream

Sudden Inspirations
Are you ever seized by a sudden desire to do good? An elderly lady is crossing the street and you really feel like helping, you drop your son off at school and are struck by the feeling that you should be more involved with PTA or you go shopping …