Articles in Concepts
Shlach: Boots On The Ground
Ritual
I’m often asked how to make ritual exciting. It’s sad, but true that many Jewish children are raised with a ritualistic form of Judaism that lacks spirit and it is difficult for them to be inspired by meaningless rituals that feel repetitive and redundant. My answer is always the same. …
Naso: Self Imposed Confinement
Isolation
We live in self-imposed confinement. Our world is confined to ourselves and to the people we love. Tell us about a tragedy elsewhere in the world, we cluck our tongues and move on. For some, the world is even smaller. It extends only to themselves. At every turn they ask …
Bechukotai: Active Listening
Sight
Do you practice Active Listening?
I remember standing on a cliff high above the Pacific Ocean in Central California, gazing down at the blue waters, shimmering waves and bright sunlight. I was transfixed, utterly and completely absorbed by the scene. Having lost all critical thought, I was aware of only one …
Emor: Trying Times
Optimism in Trying Times
We live in trying times. The economy keeps forcing us to tighten our belts. Even those that have tightened up considerably, are called on to tighten some more. People are working harder, earning less and paying more than ever before. Some are more comfortable and others less, …
K’doshim: Drafting Charedim
The Great Argument
Once again, the nation of Israel is embroiled in fierce debate over the rights of Charedi (strictly observant) students to defer their army service until after the conclusion of their studies. The Charedi community wants to maintain the arrangement negotiated in 1948. They argue that drafting their students …
Passover: You Are Unique
You Are One
Ezekiel famously said, “Echad Hayah Avraham,” Abraham was one.[1] Ezekiel was speaking to the fact that Abraham was promised the land of Israel on his own merit because he stood utterly and completely alone in defiance of contemporary culture. Abraham was willing to be unique.
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Acharei Mot: Post Shivah
The Shelf Life
I have seen it as often as you have. Someone loses a loved one, family, friends and acquaintances close ranks around them, attend Shivah, coordinate details, bring food and provide comfort. Then Shivah ends, everyone bids the bereaved farewell and return to daily life.
It is now post Shivah, …
Mitzorah: The Jewish House
On the Walls
Tzaraat was a prevalent disease in Biblical times that presented in the form of lesions on skin, hair, clothing and even the walls of a Jewish house. Tzaraat wasn’t an ordinary condition produced by heat or humidity. Tzaraat was a Divinely ordained affliction in punishment for various sins.
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