Articles by Lazer Gurkow
Devarim: Too Clever
Sometimes we are too clever for our own good. One such time occurred in the second century when Rome decreed that Jews in Israel may not study the Torah on pain of death. Yet, the Talmud relates that Rabbi Akiva continued to offer public Torah lectures.
When questioned by Papus Ben …
Matos Masei: Marijuana and Knives
Marijuana and knives, what’s the connection?
Knives
In his book, The Better Angels of Our Nature,[1] Steven Pinker writes that he always had a difficult time with the rule of etiquette that doesn’t permit using a knife to shovel food onto the fork. He writes that after working without success to coax …
Pinchas: Passover and Marijuana
What can possibly be the connection between Passover and marijuana? Well on Passover we ask questions, and when you are high on Marijuana, well let’s just the say the questions don’t seem to matter anymore. . . This may sound facetious but bear with me. I am being serious.
Canada recently …
Balak: Weed is Now Legal
Canada has recently legalised weed, so we must ask, what is the Jewish perspective on weed?
Marijuana, or weed as it is known in the vernacular, is a derivative of the cannabis plant. On the surface, plants are kosher. The only thing to avoid when eating plants, are bugs, and by …
Chukat: Live or Die
What do you think Judaism advocates, that we live for G-d or that we die for G-d?
Throughout history there have been two classic Jewish views. One was to place physical survival above spiritual; to live at all costs even the violation of our sacred Torah principles and cherished Jewish traditions. …
Korach: Resenting Direction
Korach, who resented direction, led a popular rebellion. Like all rebels he purported to take up the cause of the people. And like all rebels, his cause was neither real nor beneficial to the people.
Korach, “assembled against Moses and Aaron, and said to them, “You take too much upon yourselves, …
Sh’lach: Bad News
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 …
Naso: To be Lifted
To celebrate the inauguration of the tabernacle, the Jewish tribal princes made several key contributions. Among them were four wagons and eight oxen to transport the sacred vessels across the desert. When the Jews would travel in the desert, the Levites would disassemble the tabernacle and transport it, using these …
