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May 27, 2023 – 11:40 pm | 60 views

The kohen (priest) plays many central roles in this week’s Torah portion. Primary among them is the priestly blessing. G-d endowed the kohen with the power to confer blessing. It is a potent power. Imagine holding the keys to another’s fortune and happiness. If you choose, you can endow them …

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Articles tagged with: education

Passover: Four Problems Four Solutions

April 10, 2022 – 12:33 am | 746 views
four-innerstream.ca

Passover seems obsessed with the number four. We drink four cups of wine, children ask four questions, and four sons ask questions in the Hagadah.  It is the evening of questions and answers, of learning and discussion, and it all centers around four.
You see, there are four sons, the wise …

B’ha’alotcha: On the Derech

June 6, 2020 – 11:29 pm | 1,050 views
on-the-derech-innerstream.ca

Derech is Hebrew for path or way. In the Jewish world, there is a phrase that you are likely familiar with, on the derech or off the derech. Those who are on the path toward increasing their Torah observance, are described as on the derech”—on the way and making inroads. …

Toldot: Like father like son

November 23, 2019 – 10:51 pm | 1,354 views
like-father-like-son-innerstream.ca

Like father like son, an idiom rooted in the words of Ezekiel (44:16), “like mother like daughter,” describes a child that resembles his parent in either mannerism or behavior. This idiom could truly be applied to our forefather Isaac, who is introduced to us in the Torah as, “Isaac, the …

Ki Tetze: No Big Deal

August 18, 2018 – 11:40 pm | 1,572 views
no-big-deal-innerstream.ca

It’s just one small infraction, no big deal.
This is a common argument that we hear often, but only in our own heads. We would never be brazen enough to justify our infractions to others with this argument, but we say it to ourselves.
Suppose, you are leaving a hotel and want …

Devarim: Too Clever

July 15, 2018 – 12:59 am | 2,705 views
too-clever-innerstream.ca

Sometimes we are too clever for our own good. One such time occurred in the second century when Rome decreed that Jews in Israel may not study the Torah on pain of death. Yet, the Talmud relates that Rabbi Akiva continued to offer public Torah lectures.
When questioned by Papus Ben …

Korach: Resenting Direction

June 12, 2018 – 10:11 pm | One Comment | 4,742 views
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Korach, who resented direction, led a popular rebellion. Like all rebels he purported to take up the cause of the people. And like all rebels, his cause was neither real nor beneficial to the people.
Korach, “assembled against Moses and Aaron, and said to them, “You take too much upon yourselves, …

Naso: To be Lifted

May 24, 2018 – 12:22 pm | 1,795 views
mobilizing the force - innerstream

To celebrate the inauguration of the tabernacle, the Jewish tribal princes made several key contributions. Among them were four wagons and eight oxen to transport the sacred vessels across the desert. When the Jews would travel in the desert, the Levites would disassemble the tabernacle and transport it, using these …

Chanukah: The True Heroes

December 9, 2017 – 11:09 pm | 2,108 views
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The Women
The miracle of Chanukah has true heroes, and though we usually think of the Maccabees and the priests who kindled the miraculous lamps in the Temple, Chanukah’s true heroes are the women and children.
The Talmud tells us that although positive commandments bound by particular times, are usually non-binding on …