Articles tagged with: faith
Re’eh: Teaching Children
Memories of Children
What are your earliest Jewish memories?
My formative memories are of the holidays. Building a Sukkah with my father and brothers. Eating Matzah at the Seder table. Hearing the Ten Commandments on Shavuot.[1]
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Vaetchanan: Therapeutic Healing
A Six Day Journey
We come away from the ninth of Av, the saddest day in the Jewish calendar, with a spring to our step and a sense of hope. The six day stretch between the ninth and the fifteenth of Av are a transitional period, a time for healing. Our …
Ki Tisa: Humble Pride
The Perfume of Art
G-d instructed Moses on the art of making anointment oil with which Jewish kings and priests were anointed. The ingredients included spices of the finest sort: 500 shekel weights of pure Myrrh, half of it, 250 shekel weights, of fragrant cinnamon, 250 shekel weights of fragrant cane …
Bo: Mezuzah: G-d and Me
Home Security
House burglaries are a common form of theft and the installation of home security systems is a big business. There are many options. Some bar their windows, others install cameras and yet others alarms. Some bolt their doors and others reinforce their locks, but when all is said and …
Vaera: Just Stop Asking
My Shoes Hurt My Head
Herbert Weiner, author of Nine and a Half Mystics, enjoyed warm relations with many Chassidic Jews. Herbert reportedly asked a Chassid, why it is that despite their mutual Jewish base he feels that the Chassid walks through doors that he simply cannot. As I understood it, …
Lech Lecha: Trickle Down Religion-omics
Top Down or Middle Out
A debate rages across the United States about the best way to jump start an economy. Some believe in the top down solution; offer tax relief to job creators so they can pump more money into the economy. Others believe in the Middle Out solution; increase …
Why Doesn’t G-d Make Miracles Anymore?
A Holiday for Every Miracle
Almost every miracle in Jewish history has a holiday. It is an ingenious way of keeping history alive. Jewish children don’t need a history lesson to tell you when G-d gave the Ten Commandments or when our ancestors left Egypt. They don’t need to learn it, …
Say No to Linen
The Mixture of Wool and Linen
Why are Jews forbidden to wear garments that contain wool and linen? A typical Jewish response would be, “Why ask why?” And truthfully such a response isn’t far off the mark. (1) This prohibition is known as a chok, Hebrew for edict, a law for …