Over the past week, we have seen anti-Israel college takeovers with protestors openly declaring their desire to kill Jews and to render Israel—from the river to the sea—Juden Rein. The brazen tactics and bullying have left many Jewish students and faculty members afraid to venture onto campus. As we approach …
Read the full story »Dynamics of Relationships
In this week’s Parsha we read the four expressions of redemption. “I shall extract you, save you, redeem you and take you”. There seems to be a fascination in Judaism with the number four. At the Seder we drink four goblets of wine, we have four matriarchs, Torah …
Was it their fault?
In this week’s Parsha we are given a demonstration of G-d’s power as he smites the mighty conquerors and frees the slaves.
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A Mother’s Pain
A mother returned from her child’s funeral and approached the master. Through her tears, she begged him to tell her why her beloved child had had to die. The master asked her, “Do you really want to know?”
“Yes, of course I do” she replied.
“Are you sure?” asked the …
Nurtured by a Miracle
Throughout the period of Jewish exile in Egypt, Jews experienced many miracles and divine interventions. Children were born in a miraculous fashion; they were raised in the fields by G-d and would arrive home, alive and healthy, at a mature age. They were fed, clothed and even …
Three Loves
“And you shall love G-d your lord with all your heart, with all your soul and with all your might.” (1) These words are not poetic descriptions of love but precise instructions that define the parameters of the love that G-d desires.
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Apathetic Frostbite
The Baal Shem Tov taught that a Jew must utilize every encounter to gain inspiration inhis or her divine service. One winter day, the Baal Shem Tov’s students noticed a cross engraved in a sheet of ice and asked their rabbi what inspiration might be derived from a cross. …
The Trivial Reward
He graduated with honors, received his master’s degree and was working on his dissertation when he lost interest. In an effort to motivate him, his professor said to him, “If you submit your dissertation and are granted your PhD, I will personally buy you a Game Boy.”
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Sabbatical
Farmers in Israel are instructed by Torah to work their land for six years and to let it lie fallow on the seventh. When all the fields in a country are permitted to lie fallow for an entire year would that nation not face a very real risk of famine?
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