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 …
A Very Fine City
The population of Sodom and its environs was “wicked and sinful to G-d in the extreme.”[1] Though the Biblical narrative is light on specifics, the Talmud is more forthcoming. The Talmud relates that they were wicked in body, a reference to sexual promiscuity, sinful with money, meaning …
Top Down or Middle Out
A debate rages across the United States about the best way to jump start an economy. Some believe in the top down solution; offer tax relief to job creators so they can pump more money into the economy. Others believe in the Middle Out solution; increase …
The Olive Symbol
The flood had lasted for forty days and forty nights. The rainfall and water surges were relentless, nothing and no one was spared, even the mountaintops were flooded. But the rains tapered off and the waters receded. The ark, adrift on an endless ocean, floated aimlessly for months.
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Not Again
We have emerged from the High Holidays energized and filled with enthusiasm. Last year’s shortcomings were all catalogued, confessed and forgiven. Atonement has been secured and we celebrated for a full week. We concluded the festive season by chanting the final portion of the Torah, thus completing our annual …
Obsessed with Prohibitions
The Torah is obsessed with the word No; don’t do this, refrain from that, this is negative and that is dangerous. For every one “do” there are ten “don’ts.” Take Shabbat for example. Its only positive commandment is to sanctify the day; all others are negative. Don’t drive, …
I wanted to write a Rosh Hashanah greeting and was casting about for a new spin, something that would make this year’s greeting stand out, when I realized that it’s not the greeting that should stand out, but the year.
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The Odd Celebration
Simchat Torah is a festive holiday. We carry the Torah scroll around the Bimah (Torah reading table) and dance the night away. The reason for this great joy is the completion of our annual cycle of Torah reading.[1] Every Shabbat we chant a portion from the Torah and …
The Nature of Return
It happened once on the day after Yom Kippur that Rabbi Yosef Yitzchack Shneerson, the sixth Rebbe of Chabad asked his father, Rabbi Sholom Ber, “what now?” How do we top the pinnacle of holiness that we experienced on Yom Kippur? His father replied, “Now the work …