Articles in Family Life
Chanukah: Spice Up Your Routine
Routine can be boring. You do it every day and you grow tired of it. We are always looking for something new and exciting. Something to pique our interest and engage our curiosity. Routine doesn’t do the trick. We need something novel, something unusual, something unexpected. The problem with new …
Toldot: Like father like son
Like father like son, an idiom rooted in the words of Ezekiel (44:16), “like mother like daughter,” describes a child that resembles his parent in either mannerism or behavior. This idiom could truly be applied to our forefather Isaac, who is introduced to us in the Torah as, “Isaac, the …
Matot Masei: Your Daughter
Your daughter is born, and you rejoice. You revel with your wife, children, family and friends; there is a new addition to the family. Right? Well only in part. Your daughter is yours, but she is also part of a different family.
The Torah tells us about the daughters of Zelophehad, …
Pekudei: Relationships
All relationships are tricky; spouses, siblings, friends, or colleagues, it doesn’t matter. In the course of all relationships, something occurs to make us question the other’s fidelity. Are they really there for us or are they manipulating the relationship for self-gain?
It can be a friend not showing up or a …
Ki Tisa: The Cruelty of Abuse
Understanding the Impact
What is it about the abuse of a child that twists and stunts their emotions for life? I know that it does, but why does it? Why does an imbalanced relationship in a time of vulnerability hamper us decades later? Why does neglect in childhood make it difficult …
Vayechi: A Cast of Brothers
Joseph and his brothers had a rocky relationship. Over the years there had been some pretty bad times. They resented him and thought he maligned them to their father. For his part, Joseph didn’t help matters when he shared his grandiose dreams that cast him in the role of king …
Vayeshev: My Brother’s Keeper
Cain famously asked, “am I my brother’s keeper?” History has not taken kindly to Cain and has responded with a resounding yes, you are your brother’s keeper. But Cain had done ill by Abel. What if it is the reverse, suppose your brother does ill by you, are you still …
Vaetchanan: The Link
The link between past and present is critical to Judaism. Without a past, we don’t have a present, and won’t have a future. Judaism exists today only because every past generation chose to absorb its predecessors’ teachings and transmit it to their successors. Had only two or three successive generations …
