Articles in Parsha Insights
Noach: The Ebola Flood
Selfish Man
Have you ever received a backhanded compliment? The kind that acknowledges your achievement while smoothly sliding in a zinger? A particularly good zinger comes to mind when I think of Candidate Barak Obama responding to a wailing Hillary Clinton in a 2007 Democratic Primary Candidate debate. Clinton complained that …
Vayelech: All For The Boss
Three Messages
I always say that it’s better to work for G-d, than for man. Man pays a higher salary than G-d, and every Rabbi can attest to that, but when you need the money and G-d is your boss, G-d always comes through.
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Ki Tavo: The Ice Bucket Challenge
Timeline
An amazing thought struck me. When ice buckets started to rain down on North America, rockets stopped raining down on Israel. I was curious to see if this was true so I went on line to research it.
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Ki Tetze: It’s Not Yours
Eating Grapes
Did you know that by Jewish law you may pick fruit that is not yours so long as you eat them in the garden from which you’ve plucked them?
I’m not kidding, here is the relevant text. “When you enter your neighbor’s vineyard, you may eat all the grapes you …
Shoftim: Unity
Reports and Plans
This week we enter the month of Elul, the last month and culmination of the entire year. By Jewish tradition, Elul is a month of reflection and introspection. We review our behavior of the past year and generate an end of year report. Just as you receive an …
Re’e: The Lonely Sock
Just A Half
Have you ever lost socks in the wash? It’s bad enough to lose a pair, but losing a single sock really frustrates me. You search in vain for its match and are left holding a useless sock. My son coined his own term for the single socks in …
Vaetchanan: A Jewish Right to A Jewish Land
Let It Be
The Rebbe of Gur was visited by an official of the British Mandate. In the course of conversation the official informed the Rebbe that the British were poised to move out and leave Israel to the Jews. The Rebbe’s reply was a Yidishism – “Mi-Chi-Teise,” an idiom loosely …
Dvarim: The Power Of Words
The other day, my nephew Yisrolik Zalmanov was reading a book, when my son asked,
“Isn’t it boring to sit around all day and read? Books are just words.”
“Yes,” replied my nephew, “but words tell stories and stories are interesting. For example, you enjoy listening to story tapes and those too …
