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May 27, 2023 – 11:40 pm | 60 views

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 …

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Articles in Bo

Do You Have The Courage To Be Free?

January 21, 2023 – 9:13 pm | 281 views
courage-to-be-free

Do we have the courage to be free? As we read about our ancestors leaving Egypt, we realize that they took a huge leap of faith. In retrospect it seems simple. They left a land of suffering and bondage and embarked on an idyllic journey through the desert where food …

Bo: Can We Question G-d

January 1, 2022 – 8:22 pm | 9,749 views
question-g-d-innerstream.ca

Can we question G-d? Many have questioned G-d over the years, especially after the Holocaust, but no matter how upset we are, it always feels awkward to question G-d. I suspect this is why most people find a way to resolve their questions. They either deny G-d, which makes it …

Bo: The Army

January 16, 2021 – 7:34 pm | 779 views
the-army-innerstream.ca

Every country has an army, and every army serves a country. The question is who is in charge, the army or the country?
You see, militaries are tricky things. On the one hand, they give the country power and stability, on the other hand, they can easily assume power. This is …

Bo: Don’t Condemn

January 25, 2020 – 8:36 pm | 1,323 views
condemn-innerstream.ca

We are so accustomed to hearing people condemn each other that we barely pay it any heed anymore. I don’t know if people used to condemn less often or less vigorously, but it certainly feels that way to me. These days it seems that every time someone opens their mouth …

Bo: Ordinary Prayer

January 5, 2019 – 10:42 pm | 1,489 views
prayer-innerstream.ca

Does G-d listen to the prayer or ordinary people?
Would you pray for me, is a rather common request that people make of rabbis.
People assume that Rabbis are pious. They also assume that G-d listens to the pious more than He listens to ordinary people. I won’t quibble with the first …

Bo: Enter the Exodus Mindset

January 13, 2018 – 10:39 pm | 2,327 views
enter-innerstream.ca

Names are instructive, they tell us a lot about the things that they describe. When Jewish custom and history settles on a name for a Torah portion, the name bears a connection to the general theme of the portion. The name of this portion is Bo, which means to enter. …

Bo: In The Corner

May 1, 2017 – 2:26 pm | 2,345 views
corner-innerstream.ca

The Apex
When I was in kindergarten, teachers usually sent misbehaving children to the corner. Modern pedagogy has since rejected the corner, but the business world still embraces it – everyone covets the corner office. The corner, a symbol of shame in grade-school, is a symbol of power at the office. …

Bo: The Key Is Unity

February 1, 2017 – 9:37 pm | 2,205 views
fostering unity - innerstream

Unity
The old saying, ‘united we stand, divided we fall’, conveys a pithy truth; if we knock others down on our path to success, it catches up with us in the long run and eventually knocks us down. What goes around comes around and no one is immune. We can’t grow …