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 »Shlach: Rewarding Excellence
Right not Fair
When my son joined little league I was surprised that all teams, losing and winning, received trophies. I realize that no one wants to brand their team a loser, but if everyone is rewarded, effort and excellence are not incentivized. It is only by rewarding excellence that we …
B’ha’alotcha: Just Because
My Favorite Card
The flower shop sells all kinds of cards. Congratulations, sympathy, bereavement etc. My favorite is the, “Just Because” card. You can say it with flowers for all kinds of reasons. Because your wife did or said something special. Because your wife gave birth. Because your wife turned forty. …
Behaalotcha: The Miracle of Marriage
Sibling Rivalry
When word reached Zipporah that two new prophets had been identified among the Jews, her response was a quiet murmur, “Oh, I feel for their wives, I hope their marriage won’t end as mine did.“ Her sister in law, Miriam, overheard and asked her to explain. Zipporah replied that …
Naso: The Trump Phenomenon
Why Trump?
America is in the grip of a serious Trump phenomenon. There are times when voters take leave of their senses and take fanciful flights to lands of folly. Logic and rationale are powerless against these movements. Certain notions take hold and you can argue till you are blue in …
Bamidbar Give and Take
Give and Take in Life
When my great aunt was a little girl she lived in a large apartment. Times were difficult, many of her family’s friends were homeless and she was routinely asked to give up her bed for someone in need. One day she complained to her father about …
Shavuot: A Four Step Program
In preparation for Shavuot, we present Judaism’s four step program. Everything that G-d created can be used for constructive or destructive purpose. It can be unifying or divisive.
Take walls for example. Are walls good or bad? Ronald Regan became world famous when he challenged Mr. Gorbachev to take down a …
Bechukotai: Labor over Torah
True Labor
The first Mitzvah that the Almighty singles out for reward in our Parsha is that of Torah study.[1] But we aren’t rewarded for the mere study of Torah. We are rewarded for laboring over the Torah. It has been pointed out that this is the only instance where labor …
Bechukosai: The Gender Crisis
Gender Issues
Even if you live in a cave somewhere in the mountains of Tibet, you have likely heard of the North Carolina Bathroom Bill that requires people to use the bathroom of their birth gender. This law has sparked a gender crisis because there are increasingly those who don’t identify …
Parsha Insights »
Pinchas: Marriage Counseling
A Tale of Two Dilemmas
A husband and wife once came to a rabbi to consult on a family matter.
The husband explained that he loves his wife, but takes her for granted. Her little gestures of love don’t move him. Her, “I love you” notes, her, “thinking of you” gifts and …
Yearly Cycle »
Passover: Journey Forth
Four Schools of Thought
As our ancestors stood poised before the Red Sea, an argument broke out and in true Jewish fashion there was more then one school of thought. The Midrash describes the four different schools of thought that prevailed. (a) Fatalism – Let’s drown ourselves in the sea (b) …
Concepts »
Devarim: The Rational You
The Torah is divided into two parts—the first four books and the last book. The last book is in a category of its own because it is largely written as if Moses were talking rather than as G-d talking. Rather than saying “Moses spoke” this book reads, “I spoke.”
However, before …
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 …
