It is easy to find holiness in the miraculous and extraordinary. The Passover challenge is to find holiness in the ordinary, everyday moments.
Read the full story »Tezaveh: A Full Complement
Two Stones
The vestments of the high priest included two beautiful stones that adorned his shoulders. These stones, which were engraved with the names of the twelve tribes, served to invoke the memory of the Jewish nation as the High Priest discharged his duties in the temple’s inner sanctum. In the …
Terumah: Mobilizing The Force
Affixing The Staves
The major artifacts in the tabernacle, transported across the desert by the Levitic tribe, were equipped with large staves by which they were lifted and transported. The Torah details precise instructions on how and when the staves were to be affixed and here we encounter a curious point. …
Mishpatim: Throwing Indecent Stones
Bribery
Among the pantheon of laws enumerated in the Torah there are many that appeal to human reason and intuitive sense of right and wrong. Law abiding societies would have promulgated these laws even if the Torah would not. Yet, it is important for us to realize that even when the …
The Nerve And The Miracle
I wrote this essay
in the summer of 200,4 several weeks after meeting an incredible woman, Chana
Libah (Marcia) Schawartz. It was only recently that I learned of Chana Libah’s passing. It is with warm memories and a heavy heart that I republish The Nerve and The Miracle, today. May
her memory be …
Yitro: The Vanishing Letters
Four Reviews
Our sages taught before appearing at Sinai, G-d reviewed the Ten Commandments four times. (1) What is the significance of these four reviews and what can we learn from this in terms of the vanishing letters??
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Beshalach: For G-d and Country
The Complaint
They were stranded in a vast desert; miles from civilization. The meager provisions, brought along from Egypt, entirely depleted. There was nothing left; not a drop. If they failed to secure food today, their children would go hungry the next day. Under these conditions, why was asking for food …
Bo: The Secret of our Continuity
The Silver Lining
We had spent the afternoon ensconced in our warm home hardly aware of the wintery conditions outdoors. As Shabbat ended we ventured outside and encountered a heavy snowfall. I groaned inwardly envisioning slush filled roads and back breaking shoveling, but was taken aback when a woman behind me …
Vaeira: Seeking The Truth
Snakes and Sticks
Sticks are straight and unbending. They neither deceive nor mislead; they are what they appear to be. Snakes are serpentine; twisted and curved they slither silently and slyly conceal their approach. Dishonest people are colloquially described as snakelike whereas honest people are described as straight; as the expression …
Parsha Insights »
Chayei Sarah: Good Parenting
‘Like’ Me
Do you like friends or love them? I don’t mean Facebook liking, I mean real life liking. Well actually, Facebook has it right. You like your friends; you don’t love your friend unless it’s a very special friend. You love your parents, the question is, do you also like …
Yearly Cycle »
Niztavim: The Art of Repentance
A Simple MeditationRabbi Levik of Bardichev once interviewed a long list of candidates for the position of Shofar blower. (One who sounds the ram’s horn during the service on Rosh Hashana.) The rabbi passed over many illustrious scholars and profound meditators in favor of a fairly unsophisticated young man.
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Concepts »
Shoftim: Ending Racism
Racism is a social scourge that has taken many forms of expression throughout the ages. At its heart racism is rooted in the medieval caste society—the feudal lords and the surfs. If you were from noble extraction, you were considered inherently superior. If you were a serf, you were expected …
Rabbi’s Desk »
What Can We Do?
These past two days have been the most difficult for our people in the last fifty years. It was Simchat Torah, a time for rejoicing, yet it was a time of horror. Nearly a thousand members of our family were brutally murdered, more than a hundred were taken hostage, and …
