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October 11, 2025 – 11:45 pm | Comments Off on The Thrill of Intimacy54 views

The radical transition from the Yom Kippur solemnity to the Simchat Torah revelry can be dizzying, but it makes sense. There is a method to the madness.

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Articles by Lazer Gurkow

Four Questions That End Suffering

April 13, 2024 – 11:00 pm | Comments Off on Four Questions That End Suffering1,495 views
end suffering

We will sit down to the Seder this year while our people suffer. Israel faces simultaneous attacks by Hamas, Hezbollah, Yemen, Iraq, and Iran. More than a hundred Jews are still in captivity. Antisemitism is rampant and acceptable again in coffee shops, public squares, public schools, and college campuses.
The saga …

Giving Is The Secret To Happiness

April 7, 2024 – 8:06 am | Comments Off on Giving Is The Secret To Happiness1,164 views
giving

Giving is the secret to happiness. People who think they can be happy from taking or even receiving quickly learn how wrong they are. Do you think Vladimir Putin will be happier if he takes Ukraine? Well, ask him if taking the Crimea made him happy. If he were happy …

Can Israel Survive Alone?

March 30, 2024 – 10:11 pm | Comments Off on Can Israel Survive Alone?943 views
United Nations Security Council meets after Russia recognized two breakaway regions in eastern Ukraine as independent entities, in New York City, U.S. February 21, 2022.  REUTERS/Carlo Allegri

Shemini: Can Israel Survive Alone?
In 1972, Yitzchak Rabin served as Israeli Ambassador to the United States. He had an audience with the Lubavitcher Rebbe, who asked him if he felt he was alone among the 120 states represented in Washington. The Rebbe explained that “am levadad Yishkon”—our nation dwells alone …

Why We Must Resist The Cease Fire Resolution

March 25, 2024 – 8:50 pm | Comments Off on Why We Must Resist The Cease Fire Resolution1,157 views
Fighting-Evil

Tzav: Fighting Evil
We are surrounded by evil; every so often, it rears its ugly head as it did on Simchat Torah—the October 7 massacre. Pure evil raped Jewish mothers, burned Jewish babies alive, mutilated their fathers, and beheaded their neighbors. Pure evil burned loving couples clinging to each other, to …

Purim: A Nation United

March 16, 2024 – 11:20 pm | Comments Off on Purim: A Nation United1,222 views
Unity

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 …

If You Have Skills, Use Them

March 2, 2024 – 8:00 pm | Comments Off on If You Have Skills, Use Them857 views
goat-hair

Among the Jews who left Egypt, there were many artisans with special skills. When it was time to build the Tabernacle, they all came forward. The goldsmiths and silversmiths, the weavers and spinners, the builders and carpenters, the blacksmiths and chemists all volunteered their services.
The Torah makes specific mention of …

The Real You Is Perfect

February 24, 2024 – 9:34 pm | Comments Off on The Real You Is Perfect887 views
perfect

Perfection is not part of the human experience; in fact, perfectionism is usually unhealthy, but perfection is part of the Divine experience. And here is the surprising truth. At your very core, in your most essential state of being, you are a sliver of the Divine. This means that the …

The Superbowl Grind

February 17, 2024 – 9:42 pm | Comments Off on The Superbowl Grind943 views
Praying

Every year, the world gears up for the Superbowl, and even people who don’t follow football take an interest. Somehow, the NFL has captured the imagination of the masses; the show, the glitz, the contest, and the party combine to make it an entertaining evening.
The fans see the final product. …