Articles by Lazer Gurkow
Chayei Sarah: Personal Agenda
Did you ever do a favor for another while harboring a personal agenda? If yes, would you ever admit it?
Abraham sent his servant Eliezer to Mesopotamia to seek a bride for Isaac among his relatives. Eliezer asked what to do if perchance the bride refused to return with him to …
Vayera: A Person of Destiny
Sodom would soon be aflame, and Lot and his family were being shepherded from the city. It was not his destiny to die that night. It was his destiny to live. But why? Lot thought it was on account of his good deeds, but that wasn’t the case. It was …
Lech Lecha: The Secret Life of King Og
When our ancestors sought to cross the Jordan into Israel, the fierce and powerful Bashanites, led by their mighty king Og, stood in their way to prevent their passage. Moses was initially fearful of Og until G-d said, “Don’t fear Og because I have delivered him and his land to …
Noach: Make A Name
“Let us make a name for ourselves,” was the motto of the building campaign for the tower of Babel. It was several hundred years after the great biblical flood had laid waste to humanity and the people wanted something grandiose to celebrate. The ten survivors that had emerged from the …
Bereshit: Beginning with Genesis
The Torah begins with the Genesis of history—the creation of the world. The Torah is not a history book. It is a manual for life —the world Torah means instruction. When we see a historical nugget in the Torah, we must ask why it was included, what instruction for life …
Simchat Torah: Why We Rejoice
On Simchat Torah, we rejoice and dance endless horas around the bimah. Why do we rejoice and why do we dance the hora in particular?
The obvious answer is that we rejoice because we read the concluding chapter of the Torah on this day. Concluding a book of the Torah is …
Sukkot: The Holiday of Clouds
The Sukkah, the outdoor hut in which we eat during the holiday of Sukkot, represents the canopy of clouds that surrounded our ancestors as they journeyed across the desert from Egypt to Israel.[1] Many have wondered why we celebrate Sukkot in the Fall if our ancestors embarked on their journey …
Yom Kippur: Remove the Muck
The Baal Shem Tov is said to have once heard a cantor confessing his sins on Yom Kippur to a joyful melody. The Baal Shem Tov asked him why he was so happy? The cantor replied that if he had the privilege to remove the garbage from the king’s palace, …
