Articles in Concepts
Vaera: The Daily Escape
Question
Over the course of history, Jews have experienced many miraculous redemptions, but the only miracle we deliberately recall every day is the exodus from Egypt. Why is this one different?
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Vayechi: Let’s Stand Up For Eternal values
The Oldest Trade
A 2011 case in the Ontario Superior Court has attracted media attention. Practitioners of the oldest trade known to man argued in court that laws prohibiting their trade place them in harm’s way and are unconstitutional. A lower Ontario court agreed and struck down these laws, effectively decriminalizing …
Vayishlach: The Self Conscious Jew
The Wedding
What did King David mean when he wrote “I was forgotten from the heart like the dead, I was [remembered] as the vessel went missing?” (1)
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Toldot: On Being a Mentch
Fill Me Up – I’m Famished
Would you find it distasteful if I barged into your home while you were cooking stew, peeked into your pot and demanded, as Esau did of Jacob, “Pour some of that red stuff down my throat; I’m exhausted!” (1)
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Vayera: The Importance of Objectivity
What Really Happened?
Back in the early part of this decade when the war of terror was in full swing I would frequently ask visitors from Israel if the situation was as bad as the media made it sound. They were never surprised by my questions; they knew that as a …
Ki Tavo: Faith and Trust
The Last Sermon
Shortly before his passing Moses addressed the nation: “You have seen all that the Lord has done before your eyes in the land of Egypt, to Pharaoh, to all his servants, and to all his land; the great trials which your eyes beheld and those great signs and wonders. …
Elul: A Rose Among Thorns
A Curious Verse
Describing our relationship with G-d, King Solomon, wisest of all men, wrote, “I am to my beloved and my beloved is to me; who grazes among the roses,” (1) a curious statement if ever there was one. The first half of the verse is perfect and symmetrical. I …
Shoftim: Let The Teachers Teach
Leading By Example
“Judges and guards shall you appoint over you at all your gates.” (1) This biblical passage establishes the halachic foundation for a Jewish Judicial system. The two primary players in the system are the judges and the guards. There can be no justice without judges, who issue halachic …