Articles in Concepts
Kedoshim: Legislating Moral Conduct
Human Rights Commissions
I attended a seminar on Canadian Human Rights Commissions. On the whole the event amounted to a wholesale “Let’s Quash Human Rights Commissions” extravaganza. But I must concede that the tone of the event was rather peaceful. The presenters articulated their call for abolition in reasoned, albeit impassioned, …
Passover: The Secret Path To A Moral Society
Just Because
When was the last time you did the right thing just because? In a Capitalist society we are taught to ask, “What’s in it for me” before making an investment. Even our charitable contributions come with strings attached. We insist that our dollars be used for causes that serve …
Tzav: Birchat Hachamah – When the Sun Sings Again
A Unique Event
On Wednesday morning, April 8, 2009, Jews around the world recited a blessing over the sun that was last recited in twenty-eight years ago. This blessing is recited when the sun returns to its point of origin, where it was when it was first created. Though the sun …
Vayikra: Humble Gratitude
The AIG Scandal
After accepting a one-hundred-and-sixty-billion dollar bailout from the United States Government, American Insurance Group distributed more than a hundred-million dollars in bonuses and retention fees to its employees; a move that infuriated the congress and the American Public.
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Beshalach: Love of LIfe
Red Sea
An entire nation had narrowly escaped; the army of murderers, bearing down on them just a moment earlier, now drowning in the ocean. G-d had orchestrated a brilliant rescue. Jews stood huddled on the far shore watching their captors toss helplessly about on the surging waves of a plunging …
Bo: The Miracle of Nature
Months and Years
Have you ever wondered why there are annual cycles in the lunar calendar and monthly cycles in the solar calendar? Think about it. The solar calendar is defined by the cycle of seasons as the earth tilts on its axis for three-hundred-and-sixty-five days; nothing in this calendar lends …
Vayechi: True Guardians
Protect or Destroy
Listening to media reports about Gaza and Hamas, I wondered how a terror group came to be viewed as a legitimate government. When did we start treating those who blow themselves up on buses and lob rockets into kindergartens as soldiers in a legitimate army? How did the …
Chanukah: Getting it Right
The Loophole
Chanukah commemorates the miracle of lights, but it is much more than kindling a light, Chanukah is about getting it right.
When the Macabes entered the Holy Temple after it had been ransacked by the Greeks they were eager to kindle the great Menorah (candelabra). However, despite their best efforts, …
