Do you peddle in relative truths, or are you a stickler for the absolute truth? This essay examines the two types of truth and posits that G-d’s truth is absolute.
Read the full story »The Rebbe and World Leaders
A Wedding
It was 1929 in Warsaw Poland. Thousands of Jewish dignitaries from both Western and Eastern European countries gathered for a special occasion; the Lubavitcher Rebbe would marry off his daughter to a young, unassuming, previously unknown scholar.
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Chukat: Food for Thought for Your Dinner Table
Sunday: A Prototype
The Red Heifer is introduced with the words, “this is the decree of the Torah.” This is not the only decree of the Torah, but it is a microcosm of all the Torah’s decrees. The underlying purpose of every mitzvah is twofold: to uplift the person who performs …
Korach: Food for Thought for your Dinner Table
Sunday: Ice
The name Korach shares its root letters with the Hebrew word Kerach, Ice. Korach led a rebellion against Moshe and the Divine order. What led Korach, a distinguished member of the tribe of Levi, to betray his tribesmen and his holy mission? It was his apathy. He was consumed …
Shlach: Food for Thought for your Dinner Table
Sunday: Why Joshua
Moshe prayed that Yehoshua be spared from the designs of the other spies. Why did Moshe only pray for Yehoshua and not the others? Some suggest that it was because Yehoshua was Moshe’s primary pupil and his failure would reflect negatively on his teacher.
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B'Ha'alotcha: Food For Thought For Your Dinner Table
Sunday: Eternal Lights
Aharon had hoped to deliver the inaugural ceremonies of the Mishkan, but when he saw that the tribal leaders were selected over him he was crestfallen. G-d comforted Aharon with the kindling of the Temple Lights. “Yours [the lights] are greater than theirs.”
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Naso: Food for Thought for Your Dinner Table
Sunday: Never Too Late
The Levites began to serve in the sanctuary at the age of thirty and their primary task was transporting the sanctuary across the desert. The desert is an arid environment with no water. Water is a symbol for the Torah. On a spiritual plane, the desert represents …
B’midbar: Food for Thought for Your Dinner Table
Sunday: Exalted Names
In the first census of the Jewish nation each family was identified by name, “By the count of their names.” In the second census the tribes were identified, but the families were not. The first census occurred shortly after the Exodus and the generation that left Egypt was …
Bechukotai: Food For Thought for your Dinner Table
Sunday: In the Right Time
If we follow His commandments G-d promises to make the rain fall in its time. Rashi explains that the right time for rain is on Shabbat. The Talmud relates that on the road, Rabbi Chanina Ben Dosa would pray for clear weather and upon returning home …
Parsha Insights »
K’doshim : Exclusive Dedication
Sanctity and Dedication
Our Parsha begins this week with an anomalous command for an anomalous reason. “Sanctify yourself,” the Torah instructs us,
“for I am sanctified.” (1) How does one sanctify oneself? and what exactly is the Torah referring to when it tells us that G-d is
sanctified? Furthermore, why does the fact …
Yearly Cycle »
The Nerve and The Miracle
I met a lovely young lady by the name of Chana Libah. She is a remarkable person and an amazing optimist. She had suffered multiple tumors and was in recovery from her latest bout. Chana Libah, undergoing a treatment regiment that would break a lesser person, spoke of her
travails with …
Concepts »
Korach: The Environmentalist
Paradise on Earth
Lush green grass, tall trees and fresh streams framed our journey through G-d’s perfect nature. Nature’s beauty, unbridled and uncapped, radiated in pristine glory. Untouched by human hand and filled to overflow with insects, birds and wildlife, it was simply a paradise on earth. The animals knew it …
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 …
