Articles in D’varim
Vaetchanan: Where is G-d
In Close Proximity
Where are you closer to G-d, on a serene mountain top surrounded by the beauty of nature or on a loud, dirty street corner in the middle of an inner city? It is true that you might feel closer to G-d on the mountaintop, but this essay will …
Devarim: Heartfelt Thought
An Amazing Feat
It was on the first day of the month of Shevat, five weeks before his passing, that Moses sat down to teach the Torah. He had been teaching for nearly forty years; ever since descending Mt. Sinai Moses had done little, but teach. Still he began a full …
Vayelech: Students or Contributors?
End Of An Era
The Torah is G-d’s book, given in complete form to Moses, subject to neither addition nor subtraction. Yet many questions were left unaddressed in the written Torah and later sages resolved them through independent analysis. This leaves us with a question, are we recipients of the Torah …
Ki Tavo: Doing It G-d’s Way
Declaring Faith
As they entered the Holy Land our ancestors were instructed to inscribe the entire Torah on huge stones and display it for all to see. This was a declaration of faith in G-d. Entering the Holy Land was a new beginning that would require additional Divine protection and when …
Ki Teze: Victimizing The Rape Victim?
Question
Is it true that the Torah requires rape victims to marry their rapists and the only punishment to the rapist is a fifty Shekel fine paid to the victim’s father?
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Shoftim: Torah or Democracy?
Disenchantment
In the summer in 2009, US citizens unhappy with health care reform, angrily voiced their displeasure with the government in town hall meetings across the United States. President Obama’s approval ratings plummeted to unprecedented lows, yet he continued to push his health care legislation. The opposition charged him with ignoring …
Re’e: A Cup Of Coffee
My Coffee SummitI have a vice, especially on long trips,called coffee. I got back to the car and shared this exchange with my wife. There is a sermon in this somewhere, she observed, and she was right. Here it is.
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Tu B’av: When Smaller Is Bigger
Self Doubt
Have you ever made a snap decision that radically altered your lifestyle? I’m talking about deciding to move to a place you were visiting, changed careers midcourse, or perhaps seeing something attractive in a particular teacher and making a snap decision to transfer your child to her class.
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