The Meaning of Sound
What does sound mean to you? Sound plays many roles. It is a vehicle for communication, music, and even distraction, but at its root sound is the simple indicator of life.
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Read the full story »Tezaveh: Food for Thought for your Dinner Table
Sunday: The Binding Oil
“And you shall instruct the children of Israel and they shall take to you pure olive oil.” The Hebrew word “tetzaveh,” carries a dual meaning. It means instruct and it also means bind. An alternate, but deeper meaning of this verse is that Moses is instructed to …
Terumah: Food for Thought at your Dinner Table
Sunday: Take and Take Again
We have many motives to give charity. Some give out of peer pressure. Some give for purposes of self aggrandizement. Some give out of a sense of duty. Some give out of a sense of shame. In all the above examples the motive is self-centered; seeking …
Mishpatim: Food for Thought for your Dinner Table
Sunday: A Sacred Trial
When a Torah portion begins with the word and we assume that it is a continuation of the previous portion. This portion begins with “And these are the laws.” The previous portion speaks of the Ten Commandments. The message is that the laws discussed in this portion …
Yitro: Food for Thought for Your Dinner Table
Sunday: The Proof is in the Action
This Torah portion begins with the words, “And Jethro heard.” Our sages asked what did he hear that made him come? He heard of the miracle at the Reed Sea and of the Manna. When he heard about these miracles he felt compelled to …
Beshalach: Food for Thought for your Dinner Table
Sunday: Oy Vey
“And it was when Pharaoh sent the nation.” The Hebrew word vayehi, “and it was” is, can be divided into two words. The last two letters spell G-d’s name and the first two letters spell the word Vey. In other words, G-d exclaimed, Oy Vey. Why would G-d express …
BO: Food for thought for your Dinner table
Sunday: The Missing Warning
G-d instructed Moses to rebuke Pharaoh for his refusal to release the Jews from Egypt. Moses delivered this rebuke and then informed Pharaoh of the upcoming plague of locust. Why does Torah neglect to mention that G-d informed Moses of the upcoming plague?
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Vaeira: Food for Thought at Your Dinner Table
Sunday: Believe
So burdened were the Jews in Egypt by their workload and fatigue that when Moses announced they would soon be liberated, they barely took notice. Moses complained to G-d, “if my own brothers won’t listen, how can Pharaoh be expected to listen?” The argument seems curious. His brethren didn’t …
Shemot: Food for Thought at your Dinner Table
Sunday: Commitment at all Costs
When Pharaoh’s astrologers predicted the birth of a child, who would liberate his brethren from Egypt he instructed the Jewish midwives to kill all Jewish male newborns. Disregarding the danger to themselves, the midwives defied the royal decree and set a tone for future generations of …
Parsha Insights »
Vayetze: The Jewish Oneness
Twelve Sons
Jacob had twelve sons, each was a little different from the others. But they were much more alike than Isaac’s or Abraham’s children were. They were different parts of the same spectrum. Different colors of the same rainbow. Intrinsically, they were one.
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Yearly Cycle »
Acharei Mot: G-d’s Space
The Holiest Day
The nation had pinned their hopes on two young men. Rising stars of the Levitic tribe, they were hailed as leaders of the next generation. Pious, righteous, passionate and devoted, Aaron’s eldest sons were expected to respectively succeed their illustrious father and uncle.
Tragedy struck. Like a bolt of …
Concepts »
Ki Tavo: The Enduring Soul
The enduring soul is our secret weapon.
If you were Abraham, a lonely man of faith, surrounded by powerful pagan nations who opposed your every effort to teach monotheism, would you believe that you would change the world? If you were alive in 069 and watched the powerful Roman army burn …
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 …
