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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: unity

Are You A Kosher Letter?

May 20, 2023 – 11:50 pm | 121 views
kosher letter

Every Jew is a letter in the Torah; the question is, are you a kosher letter?
The Torah tells us that 603,550 Jews came out of Egypt.[1] Kabbalah proclaimed that there are six hundred thousand letters in the Torah.[2] A prominent kabbalist further suggested that the Hebrew word Yisrael is an …

Unrest in Israel

April 29, 2023 – 10:42 pm | 110 views
unrest in israel

The current unrest in Israel is not about the state of its democracy or the role of its judiciary.  As many analysts have correctly surmised, the tensions are over the direction and soul of the country. The modern state of Israel was founded by secular Zionism, which established a secular …

The Key To Integrity

February 9, 2023 – 10:16 am | 1,170 views
integrity-innerstream.ca

If you are honest and speak with integrity, people will respect you and enjoy your company. If you charm people and tell them what they want to hear while you secretly disdain them, they will see through your charm and reject you.
This is not always evident upfront. On the surface …

Hakhel Gatherings on Sukkot

October 9, 2022 – 12:41 am | 421 views
hakhel-innerstream.ca

Hakhel: an international gathering of all Jews, men, women, and children, would take place once every seven years in Jerusalem. A platform would be erected in the Temple courtyard and the nation would gather to hear the king chant from the Torah. It always occurred on the second day of …

Unity With Differences

September 10, 2022 – 11:34 pm | 399 views
unity-with-differences-innerstream.ca

Which is better, unity with differences or unity without differences? Most people would say unity without differences is better, but Judaism underlines unity with differences.
An ancient Jewish ritual called bikurim, saw Jews bring an annual basket of fruit from their homesteads to Jerusalem. These baskets were placed before the altar …

Yitro: One Heart

January 15, 2022 – 7:20 pm | 877 views
one-heart-innerstream.ca

When the Jewish people camped at Sinai, the Torah tells us that they were united. Rather than saying that they camped at Mount Sinai, the Torah says, he camped at Mount Sinai.[1] This draws the attention of Rashi, the eleventh century biblical commentator, who observes, “As one people with one …

Yitro: One People

January 31, 2021 – 12:11 am | 1,085 views
one-people-innerstream.ca

Shortly after arriving at Mount Sinai, the Torah tells us that the Jewish people were like one people. The Torah says that he (rather than they) settled near the mountain. Rashi, the famous biblical commentator, pointed out the anomaly and observed that at that point they were singular; like one …

Nitzavim Vayelech: A Nation of One

September 5, 2020 – 10:29 pm | 1,196 views
nation-of-one-innersteram.ca

The Torah portion that we read this Shabbat describes the Jewish people as a nation of one. “You all stand this day before G-d, your G-d the leaders, your tribes, your elders, and your officers, every man of Israel. your young children, your women, and your convert within your camp, …