Articles in Concepts
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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Shemini: Silence is Golden
Aaron
When Aaron experienced the tragic loss of two sons, he responded with silence. He didn’t accept with silence, he replied with silence. The Torah says, “Vayidom Aharaon,” Aaron fell silent.[1] At first he cried, but later, fell silent.[2] It wasn’t a passive silence, he wrestled with himself to achieve it.
For …
Purim: Reversring Assimilation
Inadvertent Slide
Purim celebrates the reversal of assimilation. The Talmud teaches that well before Haman, Jews in Persia had begun a slide into assimilation. There were Jews in the highest enclaves of commerce and government.[1] They were admitted into the most exclusive social clubs. And when the Persian king, Achashverosh, gave …
