G-d created the world through speech, and the words with which He created us are very much like flames. “Behold, my words are like flames” (Jeremiah 23:29). Flames don’t burn unless they have fuel to consume. The same is true of G-d’s words. “For G-d your G-d is a consuming …
Read the full story »Show Your Children Your Love of Judaism
This week, we read about the birth of Jacob’s children. Twelve of his thirteen children were born in this week’s Torah portion. Jacob’s children all followed their father’s lead, unlike his father and grandfather. Abraham had Ishmael, Isaac had Esau, and Jacob had thirteen children who emulated him.
We don’t raise …
Shaming A Child To His Father
Two young ladies were sitting on a bus chatting about their mutual friend who was engaged to be married. They reviewed her negative habits and traits and chortled that if only her fiancé knew the half of it, he would never marry her.
An elderly lady seated behind them tapped them …
The Sacred Body Returns To Earth
Humans are the only species who treat their dead with dignity and inter them. All other species leave their cadavers to rot on the ground (though some make an effort to cover them. Humans place them in the ground.
The first burial is described in this week’s Torah portion, when Abraham …
Pointers on Hospitality
This week, we read about Abraham’s hospitality, a story that offers many beautiful lessons.
Let me begin by pointing out how profound this Mitzvah is. Abraham was visited by G-d Himself when the angels showed up. Abraham did not know they were angels; to him, they looked like ordinary humans. Yet, …
Simchat Torah After the Massacre
Simchat Torah: The Anniversary of the Simchat Torah Massacre
October seventh, 2024, was not the first time Jews suffered a Simchat Torah Massacre. The first Simchat Torah massacre occurred in Fourteenth Century Cracow, and left a lasting impression.
According to multiple accounts, this pogrom occurred during the Simchat Torah festivities. King …
The Deep Well of Love
Wisdom is wasted on fools. If you give wisdom to a fool, declared our sages, he will sully it with his folly.[1] On the surface, this makes little sense: if fools don’t have wisdom, it can’t be wasted on them. But there is a deeper meaning here. Intellectual wisdom is …
The Power of Confession
Jokes about confession abound, but confession is no laughing matter. Judaism takes confession seriously, especially on Yom Kippur. In Judaism, confession is an intensely private affair. It is only between you and G-d. No one else is invited or permitted to overhear your confession. We must confess silently. The public …
Are We A Religion of No?
One of the famous passages of the Rosh Hashanah liturgy is, “I remember the kindness of your youth, the love of your nuptials, you followed me into the desert, a land that is not planted” (Jereimah 2:2).
This is our way of invoking the trust and devotion to G-d we demonstrated …
Parsha Insights »
Nitzavim: Sunnyside Up
The Sunnyside
The other day, my three-year-old son accompanied me to the supermarket. I put a few dozen eggs in the cart and asked him if he likes eggs. What kind are they, he replied, hard boiled or sunny side up?
It made me realize that this is a question for life. …
Yearly Cycle »
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 …
Concepts »
When Good people Do Nothing
On Wednesday, August 21, more than a hundred Jewish institutions across Canada received bomb threats. More emails went on the next day. Thank G-d, the threats were empty. The police responded with alacrity and determined that the buildings were safe. The police continue to investigate to identify the IP address …
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 …
