Are we truly equal? We all know someone smarter, wiser, more capable, industrious, resourceful, or creative, than us. We also know people less wise, capable, industrious, resourceful, or creative than us. So, are we truly equal?
The answer is yes, but not because we are all equally capable. Our skill sets …
Chayei Sarah: Every Jew
Who Came first?
Do you remember when Al Gore took credit for inventing the Internet? You have to love it when people come along decades after something is in place and claim to have discovered it. Christopher Columbus “discovered” America, right? Wrong. Natives lived here for thousands of years before Columbus …
Lech L’cha: Are you Bored?
The Cause
We are a society accustomed to stimulation. We grow bored quickly. We surf from channel to channel, web site to web site, job to job and career to career. Hardly anyone still lives in the home of their youth. Most have moved multiple times since their first home. Routine …
Vayera: Your Daily Sacrifice
One Or A Thousand
Which is harder, death by execution or death by a thousand cuts? Chananiah MIshael and Azariah were pious Jews held captive in Babylon. Nebuchadnezzar offered them a choice between idol worship and death. They chose death and were thrown into a cauldron. Miraculously they survived, but the …
Vayigash: We Are Family
A Pleasant Flight
It was Friday morning and I was preparing to board a flight from New York to Detroit. It was a flight like many others, but for me it was special because though I was alone that morning, I was surrounded by family. The flight was filled with Jews.
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Chanukah: The Diaspora Mindset
A Changed Perspective
It was several years ago, upon my return from a December trip to Israel, that I realized how deeply the diaspora had disaporized (to coin a new term) me. The seasonal decorations and music that pervade the public arena this time of year, were completely absent in Israel. …
Vayeshev: At Home
Where We Feel At Home
The story is told of a Chassid who would travel on business to St Petersburg and return home to his Rebbe’s court. In St. Petersburg he would don modern attire and mingle with his business colleagues, at home he reverted to the Chassid’s garb.
Feeling uncomfortable with …
Vayishlach: Why We Give
Early Morning Mitzvah
I want to share a story that made me reflect on why we give to people in need.
It was 6:15 AM and I was at a Starbucks on the New York Throughway seeking a dose of Ameicana to keep me awake. I was tired and bleary eyed, but …
Vayetze: Putting Children First
Children First
Do you put your children first? Are they an integral part of your life or do they intrude on your freedom? Did you marry only for love or to build a family with the person you love? When you come home, do you have eyes only for your spouse …
Parsha Insights »
Shabbat Shuvah: The Loving Exam
The days of reckoning are here, and it is time for the loving exam. Most exams are associated with tension and trepidation. Irrespective of how well we know the material, proctors do their best to make it stressful. Fear of failure, fear of getting caught cheating, and fear of falling …
Yearly Cycle »
Nitzavim Vayelech: The Key is Education
Returning The Keys
When the marauding Babylonian army broke into the Temple they found priests going about their sacred duties in ecclesiastic devotion. Some prepared meal offerings, others stoked the altar’s flames, yet others inspected logs to ensure their perfection. Outside the battle raged, but inside, the worship continued without distraction.
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Concepts »
Yitro: Original Thought
How Dare We?
Jewish tradition and history assigned names to all Torah portions. The portion that describes the delivery of the Ten Commandments at Sinai is named after Moses’ father in law, Jethro. Based on the belief that everything, including a choice of name, occurs for a reason, we wish to …
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 …
