Articles by Lazer Gurkow
Vayetze: A Time of Strength, Not Darkness
![Vayetze: A Time of Strength, Not Darkness time of strength](https://www.innerstream.ca/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/time-of-strength-150x150.jpg)
Jacob traveled from Beer Sheva to Haran. Beer Sheva, Hebrew for the well of the oath, was named after the oath of friendship taken by Abraham and the Philistine king, Abimelech. Haran was named after the Hebrew word haron, which means anger. The people of Haran, chief among them Laban, …
The Jewish Core Emerges
![The Jewish Core Emerges Jewish Core](https://www.innerstream.ca/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Jewish-core-150x150.jpg)
The Jewish core has emerged stronger than ever these past few weeks. The monstrous massacre, compounded by the public blaming Jews for it, was a murderous double stab to the collective Jewish heart. The fact that some of our decades-long friends and neighbors have turned on us so suddenly left …
I Love You
![I Love You I Love You](https://www.innerstream.ca/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/I-love-you-150x150.jpg)
“Creator of the world. Please, I love you. I’m in love with you. Please don’t disappoint me. I love you.”
These loving, pleading words came from Margalit Megidish as she prayed for her daughter, Ori, whom Hamas took hostage. Ori Megidish is a soldier who served on a base near Gaza …
The Power of Unity
![The Power of Unity power-of-unity](https://www.innerstream.ca/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/Jewish_Unity-150x150.jpg)
The power of unity is palpable across the holy land these days. It is an incredible shift from how things were less than a month ago. For many months, Jews were screaming at each other in support and in protest of the government’s planned judicial overhaul. The invectives hurled were …
On the Question of Human Shields
![On the Question of Human Shields human shields](https://www.innerstream.ca/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/human-shields-150x150.png)
The question of human shields has been in the news a lot these past few weeks. As Israel responds to the heinous massacre of innocent civilians, men, women, and children, perpetrated by the sub-human Hamas terrorists, it is being accused of targeting innocent civilians.
Some of these accusers are the very …
The Opposite of Goodness Is Indifference
![The Opposite of Goodness Is Indifference indifference](https://www.innerstream.ca/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/indifference-150x150.jpg)
Indifference is the opposite of goodness. This quote has been attributed to many, including Eli Wiesel. Its authorship notwithstanding, its message is powerful.
Noah was a righteous man, but he was not a good man because he was indifferent. G-d selected Noah for survival because he was righteous and whole, but …
When G-d Begs Forgiveness
![When G-d Begs Forgiveness G-d Begs Forgiveness](https://www.innerstream.ca/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/Kfar-Azah-150x150.jpg)
This week we read that sometimes even G-d begs forgiveness. The story of Genesis tells us that when G-d first created the luminaries, He made the sun and the moon equal in stature—two equal rulers. How did the moon become so small and dependant on the sun for light?
The Talmud …
What Can We Do?
![What Can We Do? what can we do](https://www.innerstream.ca/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/war-150x150.jpg)
These past two days have been the most difficult for our people in the last fifty years. It was Simchat Torah, a time for rejoicing, yet it was a time of horror. Nearly a thousand members of our family were brutally murdered, more than a hundred were taken hostage, and …