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 »Emor: Effective Perspective
Perspective is the key ingredient in life. Some people take the perspective that life owes them. Others take the perspective that no one owes them anything. The former, do nothing to help themselves, the latter do all that they can to help themselves. In our generation, too many are growing …
Acharei Mot Kedoshim: Chai to Life
We are all familiar with chai, the Hebrew word for life. Chai has a numeric value of eighteen, which is why it is common for Jews to donate to charity in multiples of eighteen. The Talmud tells us that charity saves us from premature death.[1] When we donate in multiples …
Tazria Mezora: Judging from Past Behavior
Past behavior is often a harbinger of the future, but to judge fairly we must consider the very latest episode of the past behavior. I was once at a wedding, where the groom’s elderly venerated teacher danced with vigor and joy, and his many students, their eyes sparkling with admiration …
Shemini: What Is Impurity
Why does one who eats non-kosher food become impure? What does impurity even mean?
Hebrew is a delightful language and if we pay attention to the words we can often gain insight into the meaning. The Hebrew word for impure is ta’me. The word is comprised of three letters, a taf, …
Passover: No Salt Rule
Matzah has a no salt rule. It is made of flour and water. Nothing else. No liquids, no spices, not even salt. This is because the Matzah that we eat at the seder represents the poor person’s bread and the poor can’t afford to add flavor to their bread. The …
Tzav: Smoking Hot
Smoke and FireThe temperature in the Temple was smoking hot. One can only imagine that the summer months in Jerusalem were hot enough as it was. Add to that the myriads of people that filled the temple on a given day, and the many fires atop the altar, and you …
Vayikra: Coming to Shull
When you live in a small Jewish community, you often need to recruit people to attend services at the synagogue just to ensure that you have a Minyan (quorum of ten men for prayer). Many grow frustrated with the process and wonder what value there is in attending only because …
Vayakhel Pekudei: Playing Host to G-d
A Wise Host
The host of the party was worried that there were too many people and not enough refreshments. He was sure that not everyone had been invited, but he had to identify the crashers. So, he called for silence and asked, “Will those from the bride’s side of the …
Parsha Insights »
Bereshit: Long Life
In many communities it is customary to wish one another ‘long life’ after a funeral or in a house of mourning. In the simple sense it is a wish for longevity, in the deeper sense it means that our lives should be long–filled with achievements that outlast our lifetimes.
This brings …
Yearly Cycle »
Sukkot: Palm Frond
The Palm frond is the tallest and most visible of the four species that we waive during the festival of Sukkot. So much does the Palm frond stand out that it is perceived as the signature piece of the four species. When referring to the four species, one often describes …
Concepts »
Matot Masei: Unity in Good Times and Bad
Anxiety Brought us Together
Disaster is the parent of opportunity. When the normal and routine are shattered, when calm and confidence are shaken, the patterns of life are altered and new opportunities are born.
It remains to us to convert these opportunities into reality. It remains to us to grasp that, if we …
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 …
