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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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Because I Said So

April 14, 2023 – 12:37 pm | Comments Off on Because I Said So384 views
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Because I said so, was a common refrain when I was young. We knew that we were more competent than all adults combined, and we constantly challenged our elders when we were instructed to do something. When the explanation was above our pay grades, their response was often, “Because I …

In G-d We Trust

March 25, 2023 – 10:21 pm | Comments Off on In G-d We Trust1,538 views
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In G-d We Trust
Do you trust in G-d? Is that your first go-to option when you experience a setback?
Suppose your car breaks down, you lose your job, or your dental insurance lapses just before your child needs a root canal, is your first reaction, “In G-d we trust?” Sadly, for …

The Entitlement Generation

March 11, 2023 – 9:58 pm | Comments Off on The Entitlement Generation771 views
entitlement

The entitlement generation claims whatever they want as their entitlement. Let me tell you a story:
Tim Hortons, a coffee house chain, runs an annual contest called, “Roll Up To Win.” Customers roll back the rim of their coffee cup to see if they won a prize. This year, the contest …

Happy Birthday

February 25, 2023 – 9:36 pm | Comments Off on Happy Birthday2,689 views
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Tetzaveh: The Gift of a Birthday
Moses’ birthday was on the seventh of Adar. The Shabbat before Purim is almost always in the week of Moses’ birthday so let’s use this opportunity to discuss what it means to be born. Many think of birth as the beginning of our story, but …

Do We Have Free Choice

January 29, 2023 – 12:56 am | Comments Off on Do We Have Free Choice2,008 views
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Beshalach: Do We Have Free Choice
If G-d knows what we will choose before we choose it, do we have free choice? In our Torah portion we learn that G-d told our ancestors not to save Mana from one day to the next and to trust Him to provide. Some Jews …

Why Ten Plagues?

January 15, 2023 – 3:02 pm | Comments Off on Why Ten Plagues?624 views
ten plagues innerstream.org

This week we are introduced to the ten plagues. Seven plagues appear in our Torah portion and the last three appear in next week’s Torah portion. Have you ever noticed that there are ten plagues, ten commandments, and G-d Created the world with ten utterances? What is the common link?

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The First Diaspora Jew

December 31, 2022 – 8:13 pm | Comments Off on The First Diaspora Jew807 views
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This week we are introduced to the diaspora Jew. Until this point, the Torah was concerned with holy people who lived in holy places (except for Abraham who lived for a while in Mesopotamia). We read about Joseph’s sale to Egypt several weeks ago, but that is not a true …

Come Down

December 25, 2022 – 10:54 am | Comments Off on Come Down668 views
come-down-innerstream.ca

Today, I want to talk to you the time Joseph instructed his father to, “Come down to me.”
Joseph was viceroy of Egypt—the only country with food in a region otherwise plagued by famine. Joseph’s brothers came to procure food for their families, and Joseph tangled with them. After several days, …