Articles in Concepts
Toldot: To Really Trust
Digging Wells – A Matter of Trust
Abraham fed wayfarers, Jacob herded sheep, and Isaac dug wells. Which would you rather do? The host is in a position to help others and make them happy. The shepherd provides for G-d’s creatures. The well digger provides access to water. If you could …
Chayei Sarah: Every Jew
Who Came first?
Do you remember when Al Gore took credit for inventing the Internet? You have to love it when people come along decades after something is in place and claim to have discovered it. Christopher Columbus “discovered” America, right? Wrong. Natives lived here for thousands of years before Columbus …
Lech L’cha: Are you Bored?
The Cause
We are a society accustomed to stimulation. We grow bored quickly. We surf from channel to channel, web site to web site, job to job and career to career. Hardly anyone still lives in the home of their youth. Most have moved multiple times since their first home. Routine …
Vayeshev: At Home
Where We Feel At Home
The story is told of a Chassid who would travel on business to St Petersburg and return home to his Rebbe’s court. In St. Petersburg he would don modern attire and mingle with his business colleagues, at home he reverted to the Chassid’s garb.
Feeling uncomfortable with …
Vayetze: Putting Children First
Children First
Do you put your children first? Are they an integral part of your life or do they intrude on your freedom? Did you marry only for love or to build a family with the person you love? When you come home, do you have eyes only for your spouse …
Toldot: The Secret of Jewish Survival
Survival Throughout History
Blaise Pascal, French theologian and philosopher, wrote at length about the marvel of Jewish survival. Powerful kings have tried to destroy them, yet the Jews survived whereas the nations of Greece, Italy, Athens and Rome have long perished. It is said that when King Louis XIV of France …
Chayei Sarah: The Joys of Hard Work
No Break
Abraham seems to have been in love with hard work. The frenetic pace of his life was unusual. In his youth, he organized and gave mass lectures on Monotheism all across Mesopotamia. He wrote four hundred books on the subject.
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Vayera: The Final Journey
Accompaniment
Today I want to share a reflection for life’s final journey.
Abraham planted an Eshel[1] and our sages had two different explanations for what that was. Some said it was an orchard, others said it was an inn. Some name their inn, The Red Roof Inn, others name their inn, The …
