The greatest miracle of our times, on par, perhaps, with that of the Six-Day War, occurred last Saturday night. More than 360 missiles and unmanned aerial vehicles were dispatched by Iran to Israel. The intention was to destroy defensive infrastructure, wreak mayhem and havoc, and destroy Jewish lives.
Some of the …
B’ha’alotcha: Tithe for Israel
Israel seems to be a recurring problem for the Jewish people. Ever since Joshua conquered the land, nations have tried to wrest it from us. Our ancestors fought recurring battles against the Moabites, Midianites, Canaanites, Amalekites, Ammonites, and Philistines. Later came the Assyrians, Babylonians, Persians, Greeks, and finally, the Romans, …
Bamidbar: Israel Is On Fire
Israel is on fire this week and we live in an age where this cannot be denied. Footage of skies filled with rockets fired maliciously into densely populated neighborhoods, flood our social media accounts daily. Our brethren live in shelters and too many have been struck. The iron dome is …
Naso: Implicit Bias
Implicit bias is the idea that we all harbor prejudices and stereotypes without our conscious knowledge. It rests on theory that since most of our actions are governed by our subconscious, implicit biases are more accurate predictors of our behavior than conscious values.
In other words, we don’t need to behave …
Behar Bechukosai: Fool Yourself
Do you ever fool yourself? The answer is likely yes because we all do. Every time you something wrong and find a circuitous argument to justify your behavior, you fool yourself.
The Torah forbids defrauding others in business. When you sell or buy from your fellow, do not wrong him. If …
Emor: Are Humans Good?
The other day, I asked several youngsters which is the most important species on earth. One raised his hand and suggested that we, humans, are most important. Another objected and said, that we are the worst offenders on the planet. Humans, she insisted are a horrible species.
I was taken aback …
Acharei Kedoshim: Cancel Culture
Cancel culture is a craze in our times. The airways and streets are ablaze with political correctness and groupthink. This isn’t the first time that cancel culture has taken hold. In my own lifetime I watched groupthink take hold several times and history books are replete with such examples. My …
Tazria Metzora: The Pivotal Moment
This week we will learn about the power of a moment. A metzora is one who contracted a skin condition called Tzaraas in biblical times. This condition is often confused with leprosy because the metzora was quarantined, but this was not a medical condition. These lesions appeared when a Jew …
Semini: Kosher Fish
Kosher fish have fins and scales. In the Torah’s words, “Any [creature] in the water that has fins and scales, those you may eat.”[1] Though fins and scales merely indicate that a fish is kosher, there must be a reason G-d chose these two indicators. Why do fins and scales …
Parsha Insights »
Behar: Alone In The World
Entebbe
Next month will mark the fortieth anniversary of Israel’s finest hour, the hostage rescue at Entebbe. When the crisis began in June of 1976, Israel firmly believed that the fate of the Jewish hostages was the legal responsibility of France, under whose flag the airplane had flown when it was …
Yearly Cycle »
Masei: The Wandering Jew
Wandering
Why is the Jew always wandering? We left Egypt and spent the next forty years wandering in a dessert. Throughout our exile, our people have wandered. Even today, Jews who live in stable countries, don’t remain in the same place for long. Even Jews in Israel, wander away in search …
Concepts »
Ki Teze: Victimizing The Rape Victim?
Question
Is it true that the Torah requires rape victims to marry their rapists and the only punishment to the rapist is a fifty Shekel fine paid to the victim’s father?
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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 …
