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October 7, 2024 – 10:40 pm | Comments Off on The Power of Confession52 views

Jokes about confession abound, but confession is no laughing matter. Judaism takes confession seriously, especially on Yom Kippur. In Judaism, confession is an intensely private affair. It is only between you and G-d. No one else is invited or permitted to overhear your confession. We must confess silently. The public …

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The Jewish Core Emerges

November 15, 2023 – 7:17 pm | Comments Off on The Jewish Core Emerges445 views
Jewish Core

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 …

Freedom of Thought

October 1, 2022 – 10:43 pm | Comments Off on Freedom of Thought933 views
freedom-of-thought-innerstream.ca

Freedom of thought is a G-d given right. In communist and socialist countries, the individual is made to cede to the collective. In dictatorships the collective is compelled to cede to the dictator. But this is not what G-d intended for us humans. G-d intended for us to have freedom …

Purim: The Response to Antisemitism

February 20, 2021 – 9:35 pm | Comments Off on Purim: The Response to Antisemitism1,412 views
antisemitism-innerstream.ca

Purim represents a victory over antisemitism. Haman was the preeminent antisemite. He didn’t need a reason to hate Jews. He hated them because they were Jewish. Any of his reasons were excuses on which to hang his hat, but they weren’t his primary reasons.
Let’s look at the story of Purim …

Ekev: Cancel Culture

August 2, 2020 – 9:14 am | Comments Off on Ekev: Cancel Culture1,380 views
cancel-culture-innerstream.ca

Ekev: Cancel Culture
Cancel Culture is a phrase one hears a lot these days. Cancel culture is the idea that if you don’t agree or even appear to agree with my thoughts, I will cancel your very integrity, let alone your credibility.
The problem with cancel culture is that as one group …

Bereshit: Human Centric

October 22, 2019 – 10:06 pm | Comments Off on Bereshit: Human Centric1,577 views
human-centric-innerstream.ca

For millennia it was believed that the world is human centric, but science has slowly chipped away at this assumption.
From the day the first astronomer focused his gaze on the distant stars, humans postulated that our planet sits at the center of the universe and serves as the focal point …

Ki Tisa: The Cruelty of Abuse

February 16, 2019 – 9:56 pm | Comments Off on Ki Tisa: The Cruelty of Abuse1,959 views
abuse-innerstream.ca

Understanding the Impact
What is it about the abuse of a child that twists and stunts their emotions for life? I know that it does, but why does it? Why does an imbalanced relationship in a time of vulnerability hamper us decades later? Why does neglect in childhood make it difficult …

Ki Tisa: Use Your Head

February 16, 2019 – 9:46 pm | Comments Off on Ki Tisa: Use Your Head1,992 views

Use your head is an idiom that means think things through carefully. Don’t just jump on the bandwagon. Use your head. Think about it, figure out the ramifications and avoid making a mistake.
The Torah says, “When you list the heads of the children of Israel according to their numbers.”[1] What …

Toldot: Hunting is not a Jewish Sport

November 12, 2017 – 8:17 am | Comments Off on Toldot: Hunting is not a Jewish Sport3,513 views
hunting-innerstream.ca

Although hunting is not as common as it used to be, it remains a popular sport around the world. This essay explores why hunting has never been considered a Jewish sport.
Hunting
A Jew once asked Rabbi Yechezkel Landau, the 18th century chief rabbi of Cracow, whether hunting is permissible. Rabbi Landau …