We all have two dimensions: the inner wholesome, beautiful self that is a fount of integrity, honesty, determination, and love. Then we have the outer fractured self that is filled with cravings, greed, lust, flightiness, envy, unhealthy competitiveness, bias, anger, resentment, insecurity, etc. The goal is not only to transition …
Read the full story »Oral Tradition : Part One
In the first part of this lecture series we established that G-d must
have given Moshe an oral tradition in tandem with the written text.
This begs a number of questions: What is the oral tradition? If it
comes from G-d why do our rabbis disagree on so many issues?
In the third part …
Oral Tradition : Part Two
The Oral tradition was taught to Moshe Rabeinu on Mt. Sinai this is indicated by a number of versus.
Reading #1
“Come
up to me on the mountain and I will give you the stone tablets and the
Torah Commandments, “Torah” refers to the written Torah,
“Mitzvah” refers to the oral tradition, “that I have …
Vayechi : Where Did the Disconnect Occur?
Growing Into Our Own
His parents want him to apply for business school but he is committed to music. Throughout college he is subjected to veiled comments and nuanced complaints but the young man holds firm. Four years later he graduates with honors and his parents attend the commencement ceremony. They …
Vayigash : Talking to G-d
I was driving on the New York State Thruway late one afternoon and parked on the shoulder to recite the Mincha prayer. I closed my eyes and tried to tune out the sounds of passing cars when a police cruiser pulled up behind me and asked over his loudspeaker if …
Bo : Light and Dark Intertwined
The Ninth Plague
The plague of darkness was such that “no person could see his brother, nor could any person rise from his place for three days. (However) the children of Israel had light in all their homes.” (1)
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Miketz : Divine Providence
The Jewish quarter in the northern Israeli City, Tzefas, was subjected to a five-month siege during the 1947 war for independence. When the siege lifted venerated rabbis in the community, renown for their piety and sharp wit, had this to say.
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Vayeshev : Travel Begins and Ends At Home
True Treasures are At Home
Listening to the car radio on my way home from a particularly long trip I heard an accomplished, world famous traveler declare that her most amazing travel experience was accomplished within the confines of her own home. She had observed the most exotic sights in the …
Vayishlach : Two Tracks
Shortly after landing my first job I approached my employer with a proposal. “You are a visionary but are not pragmatically grounded. I lack your vision but have a pragmatic knack for detail. I propose that you determine the overall vision for our company and I will determine the detailed policy.” …
Parsha Insights »
Vayechi: Oasis in the Desert
Jacob in Egypt
The very first time the Torah testifies that our patriarch Jacob fully enjoyed and appreciated life is during the period of time that he lived in Egypt.
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Yearly Cycle »
Passover: Freedom from Limitation
Throughout the World
Passover commemorates the exodus of the ancient Hebrew slaves from Egypt, their subsequent forty-year journey through the desert, and their ultimate entry into Israel, the Promised Land.
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Concepts »
Ki Tisa: Money Minded
The Golden Calf
In the desert our ancestors built and worshiped a golden calf. In our enlightened age we don’t deify calves or even gold for that matter, but in some ways we still behave as if gold were indeed the object of our worship.
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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 …
