Articles in Sh’lach L’chah
Shlach: Gradual Growth
The Struggle
In Canada and the US, this is the season of liberty as both celebrate Independence Day this week. Canada won its independence peacefully, but for the US it was a long struggle, one that proved beyond doubt that all growth is gradual.
The Colonists’ principle complaint against Great Britain was …
Shlach: Rewarding Excellence
Right not Fair
When my son joined little league I was surprised that all teams, losing and winning, received trophies. I realize that no one wants to brand their team a loser, but if everyone is rewarded, effort and excellence are not incentivized. It is only by rewarding excellence that we …
Shlach: Boots On The Ground
Ritual
I’m often asked how to make ritual exciting. It’s sad, but true that many Jewish children are raised with a ritualistic form of Judaism that lacks spirit and it is difficult for them to be inspired by meaningless rituals that feel repetitive and redundant. My answer is always the same. …
Shlach: On The Fringes of Tolerance
The Shawl
The prayer shawl is a fascinating garment. It is large enough to encompass the body, but is meaningless until it sports four fringes on each of its four corners. You might think the fringes are more important than the shawl, but think again. The fringes too are meaningless unless …
Sh’lach: Never Stop Loving
LOL
When you see the popular texting term LOL do you read Lots of love or Laugh out Loud?
When you hear that Jews were sentenced to forty years of wandering the desert for believing the terrible report about Israel from the ten spies, you have to wonder, should we Laugh out …
Shlach: What I Learned From A Tree
The Holy Tree
Oh, the tales trees could tell if only trees could tell tales.There is a large tree in my backyard under whose branches many little dramas have played out. Many a toddler has crawled under its branches, many a back has leaned against its trunk, over the years the …
Shlach: Got Challah?
A Unique Form of Giving
There are many forms of giving; charitable donations, priestly offerings and sacrificial consecrations to name a few. The common denominator among these is that a portion of one’s property is donated or consecrated one time; rendering the remainder available for personal use. The one exception is …
Shelach Valor Of Discretion
The Shared Etrog
I came across a delightful story related by Dov Greenberg about Israeli Nobel Laureate and novelist S. Y. Agnon. Agnon encountered his neighbor, an elderly Rabbi, in a neighborhood Etrog store on the day before Sukkot. Jewish law ordains that Jews obtain an Etrog (citron fruit) before Sukkot …
