Naso: Implicit Bias
Implicit bias is the idea that we all harbor prejudices and stereotypes without our conscious knowledge. It rests on theory that since most of our actions are governed by our subconscious, implicit biases are more accurate predictors of our behavior than conscious values.
In other words, we don’t need to behave …
Behar Bechukosai: Fool Yourself
Do you ever fool yourself? The answer is likely yes because we all do. Every time you something wrong and find a circuitous argument to justify your behavior, you fool yourself.
The Torah forbids defrauding others in business. When you sell or buy from your fellow, do not wrong him. If …
Emor: Are Humans Good?
The other day, I asked several youngsters which is the most important species on earth. One raised his hand and suggested that we, humans, are most important. Another objected and said, that we are the worst offenders on the planet. Humans, she insisted are a horrible species.
I was taken aback …
Acharei Kedoshim: Cancel Culture
Cancel culture is a craze in our times. The airways and streets are ablaze with political correctness and groupthink. This isn’t the first time that cancel culture has taken hold. In my own lifetime I watched groupthink take hold several times and history books are replete with such examples. My …
Tazria Metzora: The Pivotal Moment
This week we will learn about the power of a moment. A metzora is one who contracted a skin condition called Tzaraas in biblical times. This condition is often confused with leprosy because the metzora was quarantined, but this was not a medical condition. These lesions appeared when a Jew …
Semini: Kosher Fish
Kosher fish have fins and scales. In the Torah’s words, “Any [creature] in the water that has fins and scales, those you may eat.”[1] Though fins and scales merely indicate that a fish is kosher, there must be a reason G-d chose these two indicators. Why do fins and scales …
Passover and Mashiach
Passover commemorates the first redemption of the Jewish people from exile. I am sure it was fun to celebrate Passover while we enjoyed the fruits of that redemption, while we were living in Israel, free and independent in our land. But sadly, our people have been exiled again several times …
Passover: Matzah and the Forbidden Fruit
Matzah and the forbidden fruit? Most people would be surprised to learn that the two are linked, but that is because most people believe that the forbidden fruit was an apple. Our sages argued over the identity of this fruit, but no one thought it was an apple.
Rabbi Meir said …
Parsha Insights »
Sh’lach: Divine Insurance
A Promise – A Dilemma
G-d gave our ancestors the following message: “Go to the land of Israel, and make war with its inhabitants; do not fear them for they will be delivered into your hands.” This is the kind of insurance policy we would all like to have in our …
Yearly Cycle »
New Year Greeting 5769
It is a new year, which of course, reminds us of new beginnings. At this time rabbis are expected to intone somber words about new resolutions in the context of Judaism, but I want to look elsewhere this year. It is much easier to thrive spiritually when we are gifted …
Concepts »
A Shabbat Fast
It is forbidden to fast on Shabbat. In fact, if we fast on Shabbat (even with halachic sanction) we must fast on a different day to atone for fasting on Shabbat. This is why the fast of Tishah Be’av—the ninth of Av, is postponed when it falls on Shabbat —as …
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 …
