Until morning is a phrase of promise and hope. The night is dark and desolate, but it won’t last forever. We might be anxious and fearful, perhaps disappointed and bitter, but it won’t last forever. Until morning. When the morning dawns, the fog will lift, the sun will shine, and …
Read the full story »Rosh Hashanah: Without A Crutch
A crutch can help you get past a difficult hump, but a crutch can also be a trap. When the time comes to discard the crutch, the crutch becomes a trap if you lack the courage to go without it. Athletes famously hold on to crutches. Wade Boggs was a …
Ki Tavo: The Enduring Soul
The enduring soul is our secret weapon.
If you were Abraham, a lonely man of faith, surrounded by powerful pagan nations who opposed your every effort to teach monotheism, would you believe that you would change the world? If you were alive in 069 and watched the powerful Roman army burn …
Ki Teze: The Size of a Mitzvah
G-d did not disclose the nature of the reward that we receive for performing a Mitzvah so that we would not give preference to any ne Mitzvah over another. However, lest we assume that difficult-to-perform-mitzvot are more important than those that come easily, the Torah presents us with two mitzvot …
Shoftim: A True Enemy
A true enemy attacks you because he wants to destroy you. You did nothing wrong, you didn’t offend him, molest him, or steal from him, yet, he attacks because your existence bothers him.
The Torah tells us that when the enemy attacks, we must not fear him even if he appears …
Re’e: The Cellphone Problem
Cellphone, a word my grandmother never heard, is a huge part of my life. People, the world over, communicate via cell phone to the extent that landlines are being phased out and snail mail is a thing of the past. But the convenience comes with a price. In fact, many …
Ekev: Why We Eat
We eat because we must live, but according to the Torah, eating is even more important than life.
One of the most profound messages in the Torah is captured in this verse. “Man does not live on bread alone, but on the word of G-d.” There are many layers of meaning …
Vaetchanan: True Love
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 …
Devarim: Family Unity
Family unity is the most important part of Judaism, and the most elusive. Why is that?
What are the Jewish people? We aren’t a race since there are Jews from all different races, white Jews, black, Jews, Hispanic Jews, etc. We aren’t a nation since there are Jews from all different …
Parsha Insights »
Balak: Food For Thought for Your Dinner Table
Sunday: Instant Wrath
Fearful of the Jewish nation, the Moabite king Balak, sent word to Billam, “Behold a people has come from Egypt . . . and [now] sits opposite me.” Our sages taught that G-d is angry for a millisecond every day and Billam was able to identify that moment …
Yearly Cycle »
The Jewish Calendar: A Basic Overview
The Leap Year
The Jewish religion has its own calendar with an independent system of months and dates. The Jewish calendar follows the lunar cycle and is, on average, eleven days longer then the solar calendar. To adjust the Hebrew and secular calendars a complex system of leap years was
established. On …
Concepts »
B’har B’chukotai: True Freedom
Freedom is one of humanity’s fundamental goas. Ever since Moses trumpeted the call, “let my people go,” people the world over valued and treasured freedom. Yet we sometimes apply freedom too narrowly. When we see a person indentured into servitude we chafe at the unfairness of it. When we see …
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 …
