Moses was chosen for his empathy. He learned empathy from his parents. We mold our children into what we model for them. It is our sacred duty to model empathy.
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Parsha Insights »
End of the Hakhel
We are at the end of a hakhel year. The seventh year of the cycle is shemitah—the sabbatical, when the land is left fallow, and everything that grows belongs to everyone equally. The following year is hakhel; all farms, vineyards, olive groves, etc., are back in business.
Hakhel means to gather. …
Yearly Cycle »
Beshalach : Opt for the Mitzvah
He Won A Different Kind of Race
It was a 200-meter race and the contestants gathered at the start line were anxiously anticipating the starting gun. Yossi had trained for months and was confident in his ability to win. At the crack of the gun Yossi was off and quickly established …
Concepts »
Happy Birthday
Tetzaveh: The Gift of a Birthday
Moses’ birthday was on the seventh of Adar. The Shabbat before Purim is almost always in the week of Moses’ birthday so let’s use this opportunity to discuss what it means to be born. Many think of birth as the beginning of our story, but …
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 …
