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June 21, 2025 – 11:21 pm | Comments Off on Authentic Leaders25 views

Authentic leaders are few and far between. Most people think of authentic leaders as leaders willing to do what is right, even when it is unpopular. That is authentic leadership. However, I was talking about authentic leaders. What’s an authentic leader?
Authentic leaders are not in it for themselves; they are …

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Articles in Shavuot

Make Your Desert Bloom

May 24, 2025 – 11:13 pm | Comments Off on Make Your Desert Bloom120 views
rocks

Every year, we read a Torah portion called Bamidbar—in the desert—on the Shabbat before Shavuot. This portion describes the census of the Jews in the desert. Just as we count forty-nine days and then celebrate Shavuot, so should we read about the counting of the Jews and then celebrate Shavuot.
This …

The Ultra Orthodox Draft

June 8, 2024 – 11:29 pm | Comments Off on The Ultra Orthodox Draft713 views
Torah-Study-Wins-Wars

Shavuot
Amid Israel’s war in Gaza, there is talk of drafting yeshivah students into the army to bolster its ranks. On Shavuot, we celebrate the anniversary of receiving the Torah, so I want to write about the role of Torah in war. The Torah is not just a dusty old book …

Are You A Kosher Letter?

May 20, 2023 – 11:50 pm | Comments Off on Are You A Kosher Letter?990 views
kosher letter

Every Jew is a letter in the Torah; the question is, are you a kosher letter?
The Torah tells us that 603,550 Jews came out of Egypt.[1] Kabbalah proclaimed that there are six hundred thousand letters in the Torah.[2] A prominent kabbalist further suggested that the Hebrew word Yisrael is an …

Shavuot: A Gift of Self

May 28, 2022 – 11:42 pm | Comments Off on Shavuot: A Gift of Self1,292 views
the chosen people

A gift of self is a thrilling gift. There are many kinds of gifts, but we almost never give away our very selves. We reserve our self exclusively for us. Weddings are the only exception. They are thrilling occasions because bride and groom give each other the gift of self.
Our …

Shavuot: Stay Another Day

May 24, 2020 – 12:25 am | Comments Off on Shavuot: Stay Another Day1,738 views
stay-another-day-innerstream.ca

Stay another day is a chant we hear from our children when a magical, wonderful vacation comes to an end. We don’t want to leave, they exclaim. This is so beautiful; we want to stay another day.
We all have that experience when a wonderful vacation comes to an end. It …

Shavuot: Ten Commandments of Parenting

June 1, 2019 – 10:55 pm | Comments Off on Shavuot: Ten Commandments of Parenting5,062 views
ten-commandments-of-parenting

The ten commandments of parenting is an appropriate topic to discuss in the days leading up to Shavuot, the day we received the Ten Commandments.
On several occasions the Torah casts us as G-d’s children and G-d as our parent. It therefore stands to reason that by studying the Ten Commandments, …

Re’e: The Missing Festival

August 4, 2018 – 11:47 pm | Comments Off on Re’e: The Missing Festival2,677 views
festival-innerstream.ca

The festival of Sukkot falls on the fifteenth of Tishrei, two weeks into the new Jewish year. Accordingly, the Torah tells us, in Exodus 34:22, to celebrate Sukkot at the turn of the year. However, there is a discrepancy. Eleven chapters earlier, Exodus 23:16 told us to celebrate Sukkot at …

Bamidbar: Does Being Chosen Make You Uncomfortable?

May 24, 2017 – 10:09 pm | Comments Off on Bamidbar: Does Being Chosen Make You Uncomfortable?2,960 views
being-chosen-innersteram.ca

Being Chosen
People always say, never let a compliment get to your head. But what does that mean? If the compliment is true, shouldn’t we own it, take pride in it and let it boost our self esteem? The obvious answer is that we don’t mind owning it. We mind growing …