G-d wants our love. How much love does He want? Whatever we are prepared to give, and then some.
“And you shall love G-d with all your heart, with all your life, and with all your might.”[1] This verse demands that we give G-d three kinds of love. The love of …
Tetzaveh: The Afterlife
Absent
This week we marked the Yahrtzeit of Moses, who passed away on the 7th of Adar, 3488 or 1273 BCE. This was just 33 days before Joshua led the Jews into Israel. We know this because the Jews crossed into Israel on the 13th of Nissan. We also know that …
Terumah: Vertical Logs
Vertical logs are rare in construction. Most log cabins are built with horizontal logs. It is possible to build with vertical logs and there are several advantages to it, for example, vertical logs don’t settle as much as horizontal logs, but there are many disadvantages to building with vertical logs. …
Mishpatim: Finding G-d
Finding G-d in the synagogue is no big deal, that is where you expect Him to be. Finding G-d in your home can be a little trickier, but still not so surprising. Finding G-d at your place of work or at play, in a social setting, at a party, or …
Yitro: Time for Torah
We all must make time for Torah, but how much time is a matter of perspective. When G-d gave us the Torah at Sinai, He gave the same Torah to all Jews. We are all bound by the same laws and we all share the same level of access to …
Beshalach: Shabbat
When our ancestors traveled through the desert, they were nourished by Manna that fell miraculously from heaven every morning of the week with the exception of Shabbat. There was no Manna on Shabbat; instead two portions fell on Friday, one for Friday, the other for Shabbat.
Nevertheless, the Zohar, the seminal …
Bo: Ordinary Prayer
Does G-d listen to the prayer or ordinary people?
Would you pray for me, is a rather common request that people make of rabbis.
People assume that Rabbis are pious. They also assume that G-d listens to the pious more than He listens to ordinary people. I won’t quibble with the first …
Vaera: The Great Escape
The entire Jewish ordeal in Egypt was an effort to escape. What were they escaping from?
The minutia of mundane pleasures. The Jewish people were singled out to receive the Torah at Sinai. They were poised to climb to the precipice, to scale the greatest spiritual heights, but they were trapped …
Shemot: A Jew In Exile
When Moses stood before the burning bush, G-d said to him, “I have seen the affliction of My people who are in Egypt, and I have heard their cry because of their slave drivers.” Two verses later, G-d said: “And now, the cry of the children of Israel has come …
Parsha Insights »
Vayigash: Our Parents
Do our parents have access to our lives? Do we share our secrets with them? Do they have unfettered access to our grandchildren, for example, do we let them take our children away on vacation?
Sadly, there are many people who grow up and shut their parents out. Some do it …
Yearly Cycle »
New Year Greeting 5769
It is a new year, which of course, reminds us of new beginnings. At this time rabbis are expected to intone somber words about new resolutions in the context of Judaism, but I want to look elsewhere this year. It is much easier to thrive spiritually when we are gifted …
Concepts »
Chukas: You Only Live Once
Mired in Grudge
Imagine a sculpture was formed of your likeness of you when you were young and strong. Forty years later you would look back and see yourself in your prime; frozen in time at the peak of your strength. You would gaze wistfully at the strong lines of your …
Rabbi’s Desk »
Festival Shabbat: Show Respect
United Airlines
Social media is abuzz with the terrible story that occurred on United Airlines several days ago. Dr, Dao, a 69 year old physician on a flight from Chicago to Louisville, was physically dragged off a plane after being beaten by three police officers. The physician’s crime was refusing to …
