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December 3, 2023 – 8:23 pm | 52 views

The Maccabees won the war one battle at a time. The odds they took on were impossible, but they never thought about the future escalations. Their only concern was with the battle in front of them.
Their first military skirmish was against a minor garrison of soldiers. It was not difficult …

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Articles in Questions of Ethics

Matos Masei: Marijuana and Knives

July 8, 2018 – 9:38 pm | 2,327 views
weed-innerstream.ca

Marijuana and knives, what’s the connection?
Knives
In his book, The Better Angels of Our Nature,[1] Steven Pinker writes that he always had a difficult time with the rule of etiquette that doesn’t permit using a knife to shovel food onto the fork. He writes that after working without success to coax …

Pinchas: Passover and Marijuana

July 1, 2018 – 12:06 am | One Comment | 6,671 views
weed-innerstream.ca

What can possibly be the connection between Passover and marijuana? Well on Passover we ask questions, and when you are high on Marijuana, well let’s just the say the questions don’t seem to matter anymore. . . This may sound facetious but bear with me. I am being serious.
Canada recently …

Balak: Weed is Now Legal

June 24, 2018 – 12:52 am | 3,037 views
weed-innerstream.ca

Canada has recently legalised weed, so we must ask, what is the Jewish perspective on weed?
Marijuana, or weed as it is known in the vernacular, is a derivative of the cannabis plant. On the surface, plants are kosher. The only thing to avoid when eating plants, are bugs, and by …

Chayei Sarah: Why We Bury

November 4, 2017 – 10:34 pm | One Comment | 6,314 views
bury-innerstream.ca

After the binding of Isaac, Abraham discovered that his wife Sarah had passed, and he hurried from Jerusalem to Hebron to eulogise, mourn and bury her.  This is the first description of a burial in the Torah, which gives us an opportunity to discuss the question of why we bury.
Many …

Ki Tavo: A Matter of Perspective

September 2, 2017 – 10:39 pm | 2,513 views
perspective-innerstream.ca

Blessing and Curse
When you stand in Samaria, in the city of Shechem (Nablus), and look south and north, you quickly gain perspective. You see, Shechem is nestled between two great mountains, mount Gerizim to its south and Mount Ebal to its north. Gerizim has a natural spring, and is semi …

Vaera: Do You Volunteer?

January 21, 2017 – 11:13 pm | 2,526 views
volunteer-innerstream.ca

Too Busy to Volunteer
Volunteering is a way of life for many people. We derive so much pleasure from sharing our time, energy and resources with those in need. The sight of a grateful smile, gladdens the heart and inspires the soul. It motivates us to volunteer even more.
But for many …

Matot: Dishonesty

July 15, 2014 – 9:53 pm | One Comment | 5,887 views
dishonesty- innerstream.ca

Social or Ritual?
They tell a story of a dying man, who called his son to his bedside. “Son,” he said, “let me tell you the two ironclad rules by which I ran my life. First, your word is gold. If you give it, you must keep it no matter the …

K’doshim: Drafting Charedim

April 23, 2014 – 9:56 pm | 3,468 views
drafting charedim - innerstream.ca

The Great Argument
Once again, the nation of Israel is embroiled in fierce debate over the rights of Charedi (strictly observant) students to defer their army service until after the conclusion of their studies. The Charedi community wants to maintain the arrangement negotiated in 1948. They argue that drafting their students …