When G-d disciplines us, the pain is real—but it is born of love. When He gives freely, we feel His kindness. When He withholds or corrects, His love is less visible—but in truth, it runs even deeper.
Read the full story »Behar: When Bin Laden Was Gone
Good Things Are Worth Waiting For
One of CNN’s first articles the morning after Osama Bin Laden’s assassination featured reaction from people on the streets of America. One reaction that drew my attention was, “I never thought this day would come; I had given up hope.”
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Emor: The Role of the King
The Nature of Monarchy
The world was enthralled with the royal wedding between the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge. It was more than the star power of celebrity
that drew our attention; to the British Commonwealth this was personal – England received its future queen and it’s prince took a wife This …
Kedoshim: Is Asceticism Jewish?
The Contradiction
The great mystic Rabbi Yehudah Lowe, otherwise known as the Maharal, once explained that Matzah, the impoverished bread, comprised of merely flour and water, is a symbol of freedom because those who are truly free are unencumbered. Ordinary bread is slaved to sugar and yeast for flavor and texture. …
Passover: The Freedom To Commit
The Burden of Freedom
What does freedom mean to you? Thousands of people dream every day of wealth, fame and freedom from life’s drudgery. They are tired of poverty and penny counting, tired of overworking and constantly answering to employers. They want wealth and power; they want to be free.Those who …
Passover: Removing the Chametz
Before Pesach we have a flurry of rituals aimed at ridding our homes of Chametz. One ritual layers over the next creating a labyrinth of overlapping traditions that leaves one dizzy. The following article is intended to make sense of the seeming chaos.The Torah prohibits not only eating but also …
Metzora: The Fukushima Disaster
A Powerful Energy Center
The Fukushima disaster, devastated a nuclear reactor in Japan and underscored a truth we have known for some sixty-five years, namely, the incredible power of the infinitesimal. The atom, too small to be visible to the naked eye, was once dismissed as insignificant, but no longer. Today …
Tazria: Arab Spring
The Source of the Wave
The wave of unrest, dubbed Arab Spring, that spread across the Middle East n the spring of 2011 is commonly traced to Mohamed Bouazizi, a poor Tunisian street vendor, who set himself on fire in December, 2010, to protest police harassment. Mohamed’s desperate suicide sparked outrage …
Shmini: End of Life Care
This You Call a Dilemma?
Just the other night I found myself in discussion with a student who argued that weighing an argument from the perspective of Torah without giving equal credence to chemistry, science and nature is short sighted. I agreed with him, but insisted that considering science and chemistry …
Parsha Insights »
Sh’lach: Loyal to Whom?
The Vice President
After twenty years with the company the senior vice president was invited to the President’s office.
“We have been experiencing a rash of theft in the mail room,” said the president, “and we suspect the mail room supervisor. This position must be filled with someone we can trust and …
Yearly Cycle »
Sukkot: Inside Outside
The Outdoors
In his book, “Inside Outside,” Herman Wouk describes the struggle of living a Jewish life in a non Jewish society. It is a masterful description of living by one set of values at home and encountering a different one on the street.
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Concepts »
Matot: The Joys of Ice-Cream
Can You Have Your Cake And Eat It Too?
When we see a religious leader living the good life, fancy cars, extravagant expense accounts and private jets, we are naturally skeptical about their piety. When we think of the devout we conjure up images of the impoverished and downtrodden whose faith, …
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 …
