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July 5, 2025 – 11:37 pm | Comments Off on Operation Rising Lion47 views

I grew up in the shadow of the Six-Day War. The impossible yardstick of this war measured every subsequent war in Israel. It redefined the term blitzkrieg as Israel rebuffed a three-nation attack and came away with land from each of them.
All this changed when we woke up on Friday, …

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Articles in Balak

Operation Rising Lion

July 5, 2025 – 11:37 pm | Comments Off on Operation Rising Lion47 views
rising-lion

I grew up in the shadow of the Six-Day War. The impossible yardstick of this war measured every subsequent war in Israel. It redefined the term blitzkrieg as Israel rebuffed a three-nation attack and came away with land from each of them.
All this changed when we woke up on Friday, …

A Shlemiel

July 9, 2022 – 11:39 pm | Comments Off on A Shlemiel1,288 views
shlemiel-innerstream.ca

A shlemiel is a clumsy person who always stumbles and unwittingly finds his way into mishaps. It is Yiddish slang that is meant to be a play on the word shlimazel, another Yiddish aphorism. Shlimazel is a compound of two Hebrew words, shelo-mazel, without luck. A luckless person who always …

Balak: Stolen Waters

June 19, 2021 – 11:26 pm | Comments Off on Balak: Stolen Waters1,341 views
stolen-waters

King Solomon famously wrote, “Stolen waters are sweeter.”[1] By this, he meant that the moment something is forbidden to us, we lust after it. Not because we like it or enjoy it, but because we can’t have it. It is a quirk of human nature to be titillated by the …

Balak: Shabbat and the Week

July 14, 2019 – 1:01 am | Comments Off on Balak: Shabbat and the Week2,006 views
Shabbat-innerstream.ca

Shabbat is a twenty-five-hour break from the world. It is a wonderful time to unplug and relax. We enjoy quality time with children, family, and friends. We luxuriate in endeavors of the soul such as song, contemplation, study, prayer, and discussion. Unplugging from our phone’s constant pinging, our constant attraction …

Balak: Weed is Now Legal

June 24, 2018 – 12:52 am | Comments Off on Balak: Weed is Now Legal3,727 views
weed-innerstream.ca

Canada has recently legalised weed, so we must ask, what is the Jewish perspective on weed?
Marijuana, or weed as it is known in the vernacular, is a derivative of the cannabis plant. On the surface, plants are kosher. The only thing to avoid when eating plants, are bugs, and by …

Balak: I Am Blessed

July 1, 2017 – 11:37 pm | Comments Off on Balak: I Am Blessed3,473 views
blessed-innerstream.ca

Blessed Blessing
It was a happy time for the Jews; they were on their way to Israel. But the nations in the vicinity were most unhappy. One of those nations, Moab, hired Balaam the soothsayer to curse the Jews.
Balaam attempted to curse the Jews, but every time he attempted to curse, …

Balak: Trust Fully

July 17, 2016 – 1:05 am | Comments Off on Balak: Trust Fully4,393 views
trust-innerstream.ca

Relying On Trust
When our enemies threaten us with war, we can defend ourselves with our army. When they threaten us with abuse, we can counter with justice. When they threaten us with arguments, we can counter with arguments. But when they threaten us with spiritual curses and spells, all we …

Balak: Wear Religion on Your Sleeve

July 17, 2016 – 1:01 am | Comments Off on Balak: Wear Religion on Your Sleeve4,184 views
religion-innerstream.ca

Jewish Pride
The idea that anti-Semitism is precipitated by our outward Jewish appearance began to percolate in the Western European Jewish community during the eighteenth century. They surmised that if they would adopt a secular European appearance, they would be accepted by the nations as equals. Thus came the clarion call, …