Articles in Parsha Insights
The Kohen
The kohen (priest) plays many central roles in this week’s Torah portion. Primary among them is the priestly blessing. G-d endowed the kohen with the power to confer blessing. It is a potent power. Imagine holding the keys to another’s fortune and happiness. If you choose, you can endow them …
Follow The Money
One of the most popular antisemitic tropes is that Jews are all about money. But is there perhaps some truth to this? After all, when the Jewish census was taken, Moses didn’t count people. Instead, he counted money. He told each Jew to donate a half silver coin, and he …
Charity Without Poverty
Can there be charity without poverty?
The world is on a warpath to eradicate poverty. Many billionaires, and wealthy developed countries, are investing heavily in poorer countries and hope to eradicate poverty by 2030. If that happens, the question is, what will happen to charity? Will it become a thing of …
Unrest in Israel
The current unrest in Israel is not about the state of its democracy or the role of its judiciary. As many analysts have correctly surmised, the tensions are over the direction and soul of the country. The modern state of Israel was founded by secular Zionism, which established a secular …
Every Jew A High Priest
Did you know that every Jew is a High Priest? I don’t say this tongue-in-cheek. According to the great commentator Rabbi Yakov Bal Haturim, this is precisely what G-d meant when he told our ancestors at Sinai, “You will be for me a kingdom of priests.”[1] Not only priests but …
Because I Said So
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 …
G-d Is Calling
When things happen to me, good or bad, I often think that G-d is calling. It is a mantra that I took up in life. It reminds me that nothing is random. Everything happens for a reason. G-d is calling to tell me something. It is either good or bad, …
The Entitlement Generation
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 …
