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 »G-d instructed Moses to collect a half silver shekel from each Jew for the Tabernacle’s building fund. Before allocating the shekels to the Tabernacle, Moses was told to take a census of the people by counting the shekels. The Torah seems to describe this census awkwardly. Rather than saying count …
Together, we survive. Jews have always been responsive to fellow Jews in need. If a Jew was in debtor’s prison, the community would raise money to pay the debt. If a poor widow was struggling, the community would close ranks around her and help her. Together, is how we survived. …
Terumah: Shalom Aleichem
Shalom Aleichem; peace unto you, is the classic Jewish greeting. It is beautiful, meaningful, and succinct. The classic response, however, is curious. Rather than responding with Shalom Aleichem, we reverse the greeting and say Aleichem SHalom, unto you peace.
Now, Jews like to be contrarian. Next time you are …
When you read the Torah portion that we chant in the synagogue this week, you wonder why G-d even cares. Does the Creator of heaven and earth have nothing better to do with His time than devise laws about the differences between liabilities carried by paid and unpaid custodians? Does …
Thought Sins? Did you ever imagine that the Torah legislates our thoughts? A human police force would never get away with that, but G-d, who made us, can and does.
The Ten Commandments were inscribed on two tablets, five on each. The commandments on the first tablet, belief in G-d, the …
Your lane leads you from your current position to your chosen destination. If you stay in your lane, you streamline your efforts and make a bee line for your goal. If you veer from your lane, you waste energy, lengthen your journey needlessly, and most importantly, interfere with the person …
We are so accustomed to hearing people condemn each other that we barely pay it any heed anymore. I don’t know if people used to condemn less often or less vigorously, but it certainly feels that way to me. These days it seems that every time someone opens their mouth …
They hate us. Not for anything we do or did. They just hate us. The past month saw a near-daily rash of attacks against Jews. These weren’t isolated attacks by right-wing radicals and white supremacists. These were attacks by ordinary members of the black community against Jews in New York. …