We will sit down to the Seder this year while our people suffer. Israel faces simultaneous attacks by Hamas, Hezbollah, Yemen, Iraq, and Iran. More than a hundred Jews are still in captivity. Antisemitism is rampant and acceptable again in coffee shops, public squares, public schools, and college campuses.
The saga …
Yom Kippur: Infinite Patience
Forgiving
If your best friend hurt you deeply and then asked for forgiveness, would you be able to forgive? What if you forgave and she came right back and hurt you again, would you forgive a second time?
What if you forgave her again, but she returned yet again to her hurtful …
Vaetchanan: Life’s Little Lessons
Two Stalled Cars
On a family visit to San Antonio I was called upon to demonstrate my mechanical prowess or, as it turned out, my lack thereof.
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Eikev: Infertility of the Soul
Spiritual Infertility
If we keep G-d’s commandments our Parsha promises that we will be, “the most blessed of nations: there will be no infertile man or woman among you” The Midrash teaches that all physical phenomena have a parallel in the spiritual realm. What is the spiritual parallel to infertility?
A Lack …
Eikev: A Question of Emphasis
Shema and Shabbat
The Midrash in this week’s Parsha quotes an interesting argument between Rabbi Levi and the sages as to the primacy of mitzvot. Rabbi Levi felt that the recitation of Shema is the primary Mitzvah. The sages felt that observing the Shabbat is primary.
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Rosh Hashanah: No Man for Himself
The Loss of a Mitzvah
As a consequence of our calendar arrangement, this years holiday season is influenced in a unique manner.
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Eikev: Unsatisfied?
Manna
“And he afflicted you, he made you hunger and he fed you the Manna” (Deuteronomy 8:3) To describe the Manna experience as one of hunger and affliction seems a bit curious, what did the Torah have in mind?
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Vatchanan:The Loss of a Leader
They Cried
Our Parsha this week begins with Moses’ report to the Jewish people that he would not lead them into the land of Israel. The Midrash relates a fascinating tale that occurred at that time. Jews bemoaned the future loss of their beloved leader Moses, Joshua mourned and rent his …
Vaetchanan: Does it Permeate?
An Echo
This week’s Parsha recounts the Ten Commandments. The Torah tells us that the commandments were delivered in “a powerful voice that was never repeated.” Our sages explain that this voice did not have an echo. Why is the absence of an echo important?
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Parsha Insights »
Chukat: For Another
Only G-d
The best way to reach G-d is to sacrifice everything for another. We learn this from a fascinating detail about the Red Heifer.
When Moses was told that it is possible to be purified even after contact with a dead body, he was surprised. Death, the absence of life, represents …
Yearly Cycle »
Shlach: What I Learned From A Tree
The Holy Tree
Oh, the tales trees could tell if only trees could tell tales.There is a large tree in my backyard under whose branches many little dramas have played out. Many a toddler has crawled under its branches, many a back has leaned against its trunk, over the years the …
Concepts »
Hateful Speech And Elon Musk
Hateful Speech
Elon Musk has purchased Twitter and pledged to allow free speech within the limits of the law. Many people are upset about this and believe that any speech that makes someone feel uncomfortable should be curbed. They argue that unfettered speech on Twitter, will open the door to hateful …
Rabbi’s Desk »
What Can We Do?
These past two days have been the most difficult for our people in the last fifty years. It was Simchat Torah, a time for rejoicing, yet it was a time of horror. Nearly a thousand members of our family were brutally murdered, more than a hundred were taken hostage, and …
