We are told not to judge a book by its cover, but most of us do. In their inimitable way, our sages tell us, “Don’t look at the cask; look at the wine. Aged casks can be filled with new wine, and new casks can be filled with aged wine” …
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People often ask about the Torah’s view of women. A discussion about vows in this week’s Torah portion offers a surprising insight.
The Torah forbids many things such as shellfish, bacon, work during the Sabbath, collecting loans during the Sabbatical, and others. The Toral also permits many things. Yet, the Torah …
A Promise – A Dilemma
G-d gave our ancestors the following message: “Go to the land of Israel, and make war with its inhabitants; do not fear them for they will be delivered into your hands.” This is the kind of insurance policy we would all like to have in our …
The boring moments are, well, boring. Why do we need them, can’t G-d just give us a short life filled with thrills rather than a long life with long stretches of boring moments? Who wants to be stuck in traffic or wait on line at the supermarket? Who wants to …
Planting In A Well
“And [Abraham] planted an Eshel in B’er Sheva.” Eshel is an inn, a place to eat and drink,[1] strangers passing through B’er Sheva, were invited to Abraham’s tent to eat and drink. When they had their fill, Abraham would invite them to thank G-d for the food …
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 …
