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October 7, 2024 – 10:40 pm | Comments Off on The Power of Confession52 views

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 …

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Articles tagged with: charity

Charity Without Poverty

May 6, 2023 – 11:04 pm | Comments Off on Charity Without Poverty763 views
charity without poverty

Can there be charity without poverty?
The world is on a warpath to eradicate poverty. Many billionaires, and wealthy developed countries, are investing heavily in poorer countries and hope to eradicate poverty by 2030. If that happens, the question is, what will happen to charity? Will it become a thing of …

Terumah: Good Intentions

February 13, 2021 – 8:54 pm | Comments Off on Terumah: Good Intentions1,307 views
good-intentions

Good intentions are important, but they aren’t everything.
When it comes to Mitzvot, intentions are important, but the action is primary. If you want to mow the lawn, you need to go out and mow it. Intending to mow the lawn and even visualizing yourself doing it, won’t cut it (pun …

Re’e: Believe It

August 8, 2020 – 11:21 pm | Comments Off on Re’e: Believe It1,585 views
believe-it-innerstream.ca

It is hard to believe something that can’t be proved. It is even harder to believe in something you can’t see. Some people say, “when I see it, I will believe it.” Others say, “When you believe it, you will see it.”
When Covid-19 first came to our shores, I was …

Bamidbar: Count for Something

May 10, 2018 – 9:40 pm | Comments Off on Bamidbar: Count for Something2,341 views
count-innerstream.ca

G-d instructed Moses to take a census of the Jewish people in the desert. In all, G-d told Moses to count the Jews three times in a forty-year period. Rashi, the famed eleventh century biblical commentator, explained that G-d counts the Jews because He loves them.[1]
This statement makes it sound …

Acharei Mot Kedoshim: Chai to Life

April 21, 2018 – 11:08 pm | Comments Off on Acharei Mot Kedoshim: Chai to Life2,175 views
chai-innerstream.ca

We are all familiar with chai, the Hebrew word for life. Chai has a numeric value of eighteen, which is why it is common for Jews to donate to charity in multiples of eighteen. The Talmud tells us that charity saves us from premature death.[1] When we donate in multiples …

Ki Tavo: Reach Out

September 17, 2016 – 11:35 pm | Comments Off on Ki Tavo: Reach Out2,632 views
reach-out-innerstream.ca

Cell Phone Reach Out
Good news for all those who have been trying to reach me via cell, text or other forms of digital communication. My withdrawal from the cell phone world has come to an end. My service provider delivered my new cell phone and I am connected again. But …

Re’eh: Charity

August 31, 2016 – 9:17 pm | Comments Off on Re’eh: Charity3,408 views
selfishness - innerstream

Rewards
Charity is an obligation and even an investment. In some ways it is also a gift, but to the giver, not the recipient. The Talmud speaks of a righteous man called Benjamin who fed a poor woman and her seven daughters during a famine. Shortly thereafter, Benjamin fell ill and …

Vayishlach: Why We Give

November 29, 2014 – 8:35 pm | Comments Off on Vayishlach: Why We Give2,716 views
why we give - innerstream.ca

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 …