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Do You Have Everything?

December 7, 2024 – 8:16 pm | Comments Off on Do You Have Everything?62 views

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Show Your Children Your Love of Judaism

November 30, 2024 – 9:04 pm | Comments Off on Show Your Children Your Love of Judaism
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This week, we read about the birth of Jacob’s children. Twelve of his thirteen children were born in this week’s Torah portion. Jacob’s children all followed their father’s lead, unlike his father and grandfather. Abraham had Ishmael, Isaac had Esau, and Jacob had thirteen children who emulated him.

We don’t raise children; we raise adults. Our objective is not just for our children to observe our Jewish traditions and love Judaism while living in our home. Our objective is for them to embrace this path when they become adults. We hope our children will build a home as Jewishly warm and vibrant as the one we gave them in their youth. Read the full story »

Shaming A Child To His Father

November 24, 2024 – 8:47 pm | Comments Off on Shaming A Child To His Father
gossip can be deadly innerstream

Two young ladies were sitting on a bus chatting about their mutual friend who was engaged to be married. They reviewed her negative habits and traits and chortled that if only her fiancé knew the half of it, he would never marry her.
An elderly lady seated behind them tapped them …

The Sacred Body Returns To Earth

November 19, 2024 – 8:41 am | Comments Off on The Sacred Body Returns To Earth
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Humans are the only species who treat their dead with dignity and inter them. All other species leave their cadavers to rot on the ground (though some make an effort to cover them. Humans place them in the ground.
The first burial is described in this week’s Torah portion, when Abraham …

Pointers on Hospitality

November 10, 2024 – 4:04 pm | Comments Off on Pointers on Hospitality
Hospitality

This week, we read about Abraham’s hospitality, a story that offers many beautiful lessons.
Let me begin by pointing out how profound this Mitzvah is. Abraham was visited by G-d Himself when the angels showed up. Abraham did not know they were angels; to him, they looked like ordinary humans. Yet, …

The First Simchat Torah After the Massacre

October 20, 2024 – 6:49 pm | Comments Off on The First Simchat Torah After the Massacre
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Simchat Torah: The Anniversary of the Simchat Torah Massacre
October seventh, 2024, was not the first time Jews suffered a Simchat Torah Massacre. The first Simchat Torah massacre occurred in Fourteenth Century Cracow, and left a lasting impression.
According to multiple accounts, this pogrom occurred during the Simchat Torah festivities. King …

The Deep Well of Love

October 14, 2024 – 10:30 pm | Comments Off on The Deep Well of Love

Wisdom is wasted on fools. If you give wisdom to a fool, declared our sages, he will sully it with his folly.[1] On the surface, this makes little sense: if fools don’t have wisdom, it can’t be wasted on them. But there is a deeper meaning here. Intellectual wisdom is …

The Power of Confession

October 7, 2024 – 10:40 pm | Comments Off on The Power of Confession
confessions

Jokes about confession abound, but confession is no laughing matter. Judaism takes confession seriously, especially on Yom Kippur. In Judaism, confession is an intensely private affair. It is only between you and G-d. No one else is invited or permitted to overhear your confession. We must confess silently. The public …

Are We A Religion of No?

September 30, 2024 – 1:03 pm | Comments Off on Are We A Religion of No?
religion-of-no

One of the famous passages of the Rosh Hashanah liturgy is, “I remember the kindness of your youth, the love of your nuptials, you followed me into the desert, a land that is not planted” (Jereimah 2:2).
This is our way of invoking the trust and devotion to G-d we demonstrated …

It Is Time for Your Spiritual ECG

September 25, 2024 – 11:31 am | Comments Off on It Is Time for Your Spiritual ECG
ECG

After several bouts of dizziness and lightheadedness, I was booked for an ECG and given a Holter Monitor to wear for 72 hours. This was my first experience with an ultrasound of my heart, and I had all kinds of questions. I hope I wasn’t a nuisance that morning, but …