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March 16, 2024 – 11:20 pm | Comments Off on Purim: A Nation United41 views

The die was cast. King Achashverosh granted Haman a genocidal license against the Jewish nation. Mordechai was one of the first to learn of the plot and he appealed to Queen Esther for help. Esther explained that it was dangerous even for her to enter the king’s chambers unbidden. Mordechai …

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Articles tagged with: tragedy

I Love You

November 4, 2023 – 8:13 pm | Comments Off on I Love You295 views
I Love You

“Creator of the world. Please, I love you. I’m in love with you. Please don’t disappoint me. I love you.”
These loving, pleading words came from Margalit Megidish as she prayed for her daughter, Ori, whom Hamas took hostage. Ori Megidish is a soldier who served on a base near Gaza …

The Opposite of Goodness Is Indifference

October 15, 2023 – 12:12 am | Comments Off on The Opposite of Goodness Is Indifference480 views
indifference

Indifference is the opposite of goodness. This quote has been attributed to many, including Eli Wiesel. Its authorship notwithstanding, its message is powerful.
Noah was a righteous man, but he was not a good man because he was indifferent.  G-d selected Noah for survival because he was righteous and whole, but …

When G-d Begs Forgiveness

October 11, 2023 – 10:54 pm | Comments Off on When G-d Begs Forgiveness479 views
G-d Begs Forgiveness

This week we read that sometimes even G-d begs forgiveness. The story of Genesis tells us that when G-d first created the luminaries, He made the sun and the moon equal in stature—two equal rulers. How did the moon become so small and dependant on the sun for light?
The Talmud …

The Massacre in Pittsburgh

October 27, 2018 – 11:50 pm | Comments Off on The Massacre in Pittsburgh4,564 views
Tragedy in Pittsburgh

Massacres Begin with Dehumanization
Last Saturday morning, October 27, 2018, eleven people lost their lives, six people were wounded, a community lost its sense of peace, security and contentment, and a world lost its equilibrium. All because Robert Bowers, a man, armed to the teeth and apparently driven by antisemitic views, …

Sh’lach: Bad News

June 3, 2018 – 12:07 am | Comments Off on Sh’lach: Bad News2,357 views
bad-news-innerstream.ca

Why is bad news so ubiquitous? Wherever we turn we seem to hear another piece of bad news. This one has cancer, that one broke an arm, another lost his job, and another’s home was flooded. Why is there so much bad news?
The truth is that there is much more …

Vaetchana: Recovering from Grief

July 30, 2017 – 12:42 pm | Comments Off on Vaetchana: Recovering from Grief3,150 views
grief-innerstream.ca

When Grief Debilitates
This Shabbat is all about comfort. After commemorating the destruction of both Jewish Temples this Tuesday, we are in a state of grief and in significant need of comfort. Yet the question is how does one find comfort after such immense grief? If we find it difficult to …

Devarim: A Healthy Waste

July 23, 2017 – 12:18 am | Comments Off on Devarim: A Healthy Waste2,560 views
waste-innersteram.ca

A Holiday
Joseph Stalin reputedly visited a Jewish inmate in prison who was rumored to foresee the future. Can you tell me, asked Stalin, when I will die? Well, replied the Jew, I can’t tell you the exact date, but I can tell you that will die on a Jewish holiday. …

Vaetchanan: A Woman’s Comfort

August 15, 2016 – 11:45 pm | Comments Off on Vaetchanan: A Woman’s Comfort2,778 views
comfort-innerstream.ca

Comfort
Just before I sat down to write this essay, I tucked my daughter Rochel into bed. As I walked into her room, she was struggling with pillows, blankets and a comforter that were way too large for her to maneuver. I offered to help, but she declined. I realized that …