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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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Geed Hanasheh—Sciatic Nerve

November 13, 2021 – 10:30 pm |
geed-hanasheh-innerstream.ca

Geed hanasheh is the sciatic nerve, a sinew in the hip that Jews are forbidden to eat. Many know that kosher meat must be slaughtered and salted. Not many know about neekur, the intricate process that entails the removal of the animal’s forbidden parts, including the geed hanasheh. In fact, …

Vayetze: Find Our Calling

November 6, 2021 – 8:27 pm |
find-our-calling-innerstream.ca

To find our calling is the hallmark of life. Life isn’t a generic formula that can be applied to everyone equally. Each life is unique; each life story is highly individual. As children, we live with our parents and family, but as we grow and mature, we venture forth and …

Toldot: Rebirth

November 2, 2021 – 10:03 am |
rebirth-innerstream.ca

Rebirth means to reexperience the novelty, excitement, innocence, mystery, and magic of birth even after many years of life. A baby’s birth, such as that of Jacob and Esau described in this week’s Torah portion, is a majestic moment. Everyone present is enchanted by the miracle; the creation of something …

Chayei Sarah: The White Beard

October 23, 2021 – 11:31 pm |
beard-innerstream.ca

 
The white beard and old age seem to go together. It is not surprising that they share the same cognate in Hebrew; a beard is zakan and old age is zaken. The Torah tells us that Abraham became zaken. Our sages combined the two meanings by saying that until that …

Vayera: Too Perfect?

October 16, 2021 – 9:48 pm |
perfect-innerstream.ca

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The Torah tells us that Abraham recovered from his circumcision in …

Lech Lecha: Anything You Want To Be

October 6, 2021 – 8:17 pm |
anything-you-want-to-be-innerstream.ca

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Sometimes children misunderstand and think that they can snap their fingers …

Noach: Ignoring Others

October 2, 2021 – 11:08 pm |
agasint-all-odds-innerstream.ca

Ignoring others is something we do when we become overly engrossed in ourselves. It often happens when we experience distress and difficulty. We revert inwardly, shrink into ourselves, become self absorbed. We aren’t intentionally ignoring others; we are just too focused on ourselves to let others in.
The truth is that …

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September 29, 2021 – 9:47 pm |
no more no less

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