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December 3, 2023 – 8:23 pm | 52 views

The Maccabees won the war one battle at a time. The odds they took on were impossible, but they never thought about the future escalations. Their only concern was with the battle in front of them.
Their first military skirmish was against a minor garrison of soldiers. It was not difficult …

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Yom Kippur: Remove the Muck

September 21, 2020 – 10:18 pm |
remove-the-muc-innerstream.ca

The Baal Shem Tov is said to have once heard a cantor confessing his sins on Yom Kippur to a joyful melody. The Baal Shem Tov asked him why he was so happy? The cantor replied that if he had the privilege to remove the garbage from the king’s palace, …

Beha’alotcha: The Travel Codes

September 12, 2020 – 11:46 pm |
travel-codes-innerstream.ca

G-d developed travel codes in the desert to instruct the nation on when to gather and when to travel. There were approximately two million Jews traveling across the desert and it would have been impossible for a human voice to be heard over the din. G-d established a musical code …

Rosh Hashanah: Against All Odds

September 12, 2020 – 11:37 pm |
agasint-all-odds-innerstream.ca

Against all odds, life came to be. For life to flourish on earth, such precise conditions had to be met that even a tiny variation would have thrown it off. What were the odds that such precise conditions would be met on earth? Considering that it is the only place …

Nitzavim Vayelech: A Nation of One

September 5, 2020 – 10:29 pm |
nation-of-one-innersteram.ca

The Torah portion that we read this Shabbat describes the Jewish people as a nation of one. “You all stand this day before G-d, your G-d the leaders, your tribes, your elders, and your officers, every man of Israel. your young children, your women, and your convert within your camp, …

Ki Tavo: Removed the Holy

August 29, 2020 – 10:58 pm | 2 Comments | 
removed-the-holy-innerstream.ca

In ancient Jerusalem, Jews would go the Temple every three years and proclaim, “I have removed the holy [portion] from my home.” What does it mean to remove the holy portion from the house?
Here is the background. Every year, the field owner would give a portion of his crop to …

Ki Tetze: A Winning Strategy

August 22, 2020 – 10:40 pm |
winning-strategy-innerstream.ca

When you go to war, you need a winning strategy. It doesn’t matter how strong or weak your army is, success depends on the strategy. If the generals devise a winning strategy, you have a chance of winning the war. If they don’t have a winning strategy, you have lost …

Shoftim: Ending Racism

August 15, 2020 – 11:00 pm |
racism-innerstream.ca

Racism is a social scourge that has taken many forms of expression throughout the ages. At its heart racism is rooted in the medieval caste society—the feudal lords and the surfs. If you were from noble extraction, you were considered inherently superior. If you were a serf, you were expected …

Re’e: Believe It

August 8, 2020 – 11:21 pm |
believe-it-innerstream.ca

It is hard to believe something that can’t be proved. It is even harder to believe in something you can’t see. Some people say, “when I see it, I will believe it.” Others say, “When you believe it, you will see it.”
When Covid-19 first came to our shores, I was …