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 »Vaera: Just Stop Asking
My Shoes Hurt My Head
Herbert Weiner, author of Nine and a Half Mystics, enjoyed warm relations with many Chassidic Jews. Herbert reportedly asked a Chassid, why it is that despite their mutual Jewish base he feels that the Chassid walks through doors that he simply cannot. As I understood it, …
Shemot: A Day Is Born
Baby De-Light
In their darkest hour, a time of deep despair, a baby boy named Moses was born to Yocheved and Amram, the leaders of a suffering nation. It took only a glance to notice that this baby was special. A good baby. But aren’t all babies good? Yes, but this …
Vayechi: The Crybaby Generation
The Natives
In our quest to put an end to bullying we introduced laws that ban abuse and enforce punishment for bullying behavior. But as is often the case, when we nip and tuck in one area, we cause unintended consequences in another. In this case I feel that we are …
Let Us Stop School Massacres
It is a terrible tragedy, a heinous scene, words cannot describe it and the camera dare not capture it. The grimace plastered on grim faces of devastated fathers, the haunted look in the eyes of howling mothers, children screaming, teachers herding, police officers protecting and the most horrific of all, …
Vayigash: Master of Self
The Offender
Suppose you were cut off at the supermarket checkout counter, would you make a scene and or take it in stride? If you would take it in stride, let me ask you this. Suppose someone cut to the front of your line and you remained silent, but the person …
Miketz: Emotional Starvation
The Dream of Panic
Pharaoh dreamed that seven thin, unhealthy cows swallowed seven robust cows, but even after consuming the larger cows whole, the thin cows showed no signs of weight gain. Joseph interpreted the dream as a vision for the future. There would be seven years of plenty, followed by …
Vayeshev: Our Children
Give Me A Break!
After years of wandering, labor and suffering, Jacob returned to his father’s home. All he desired was some peace and quiet to pursue his spiritual goals without distraction. But G-d had a different plan. No sooner had Jacob caught his breath, when tension began to brew between …
Vaysihlach: Civilian Casualties
The Ethical Dilemma
Attacked by a barrage of rockets from Gaza that killed several, injured many and terrorized millions, Israel responded with airstrikes against military targets in Gaza. Radar guided missiles attacked terror cells, rockets launchers, bomb factories and Hamas government installations.[1]
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Parsha Insights »
Ki Teze: Earn Your Blessing
Content to Take
Inherent in human nature is the desire to make our own way in life. Constant dependence on the largess of others is abhorrent to us. How many children of Billionaires opt for a life of leisure and constant dependence? Most want to contribute to their parents business or …
Yearly Cycle »
Sukkot: The Holiday of Clouds and Huts
A Charming Celebration
Since my earliest childhood, the holiday of Sukkot held a special place in my heart. Sukkot equaled festivity, joy, celebration and of course an ad hoc family gathering of amateur Sukkah builders. My father would erect the walls of our little Sukkah hut and for eight days we …
Concepts »
Freedom of Thought
Freedom of thought is a G-d given right. In communist and socialist countries, the individual is made to cede to the collective. In dictatorships the collective is compelled to cede to the dictator. But this is not what G-d intended for us humans. G-d intended for us to have freedom …
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 …
