Articles by Lazer Gurkow
Rabbi Lazer Gurkow began his career at the tender age of fifteen when he was invited to congregations the world over to deliver guest sermons and to lead services. Rabbi Gurkow received his Rabbinic ordination through the Chabad Yeshiva system and was ordained in 1995 at the United Lubavitcher Yeshiva in Brooklyn, New York. With his easy, informal manner of presentation, Rabbi Gurkow engages his audience and leads them on provocative journeys of thought. He has lectured on many topics and was invited to speak to audiences Israel, Europe, Australia and throughout North America. Gifted with the ability to present the complicated in easily understood language, Rabbi Gurkow has lectured successfully to University students and community groups. A prolific writer, he is the author of more than six hundred articles that appear regularly in both on line and print publications. He is the author of a weekly Torah essay that is distributed via email and is published on numerous websites. He is the author of www.innerstream.org, a web site devoted to presenting the inner stream of meaning within Torah and he was a long-standing Scholar in Residence with Askmoses.com. Rabbi Gurkow serves as Rabbi to Congregation Beth Tefilah and resides in London Ontario with his wife and five children. Rabbi Gurkow is available to lecture to your community and is prepared to tailor his talk to the needs of your audience. You can reserve Rabbi Gurkow for an evening lecture on the subject of your choice or for a full Shabbaton weekend. For more information or to learn more about Rabbi Gurkow's lecture titles and fees you may contact him directly at rabbi@innerstream.org.
Ki Tavo: The Ice Bucket Challenge
Timeline
An amazing thought struck me. When ice buckets started to rain down on North America, rockets stopped raining down on Israel. I was curious to see if this was true so I went on line to research it.
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Ki Tetze: It’s Not Yours
Eating Grapes
Did you know that by Jewish law you may pick fruit that is not yours so long as you eat them in the garden from which you’ve plucked them?
I’m not kidding, here is the relevant text. “When you enter your neighbor’s vineyard, you may eat all the grapes you …
Shoftim: Unity
Reports and Plans
This week we enter the month of Elul, the last month and culmination of the entire year. By Jewish tradition, Elul is a month of reflection and introspection. We review our behavior of the past year and generate an end of year report. Just as you receive an …
Re’e: The Lonely Sock
Just A Half
Have you ever lost socks in the wash? It’s bad enough to lose a pair, but losing a single sock really frustrates me. You search in vain for its match and are left holding a useless sock. My son coined his own term for the single socks in …
Ekev: Doing for G-d
A Curious Word
Ours, is a religion of deed. The deed is more important to us than our mindset while doing it. Yet, the way we perform the deed tells us much about our creed. If we do it for ourselves, we pick and choose the deeds we like. If we …
Vaetchanan: A Jewish Right to A Jewish Land
Let It Be
The Rebbe of Gur was visited by an official of the British Mandate. In the course of conversation the official informed the Rebbe that the British were poised to move out and leave Israel to the Jews. The Rebbe’s reply was a Yidishism – “Mi-Chi-Teise,” an idiom loosely …
Dvarim: The Power Of Words
The other day, my nephew Yisrolik Zalmanov was reading a book, when my son asked,
“Isn’t it boring to sit around all day and read? Books are just words.”
“Yes,” replied my nephew, “but words tell stories and stories are interesting. For example, you enjoy listening to story tapes and those too …
Masei: The Origins of Terror
Terror Springs From Misery
If you repeat a lie often enough people begin to believe it. The claim that terror is caused by misery and poverty is one such example. It is so often repeated that a guilt ridden West has come to accept it. But no matter how oft a …