Articles tagged with: humility
B’har: Jewish Pride
Sense of Self
Is pride a dirty word? It’s often listed alongside lust and greed, but is it really bad? I suppose it depends on what you are proud of. If you have Jewish pride, if you take pride in your Jewishness, it isn’t altogether bad, but if you take pride …
Shoftim: Write a Torah
Your Own Scroll
One of the six-hundred-thirteen commandments is the obligation for every Jew to write a Torah scroll. Jews that are not trained to write the Torah script may discharge their obligation by commissioning a trained scribe to write it for them.[1]
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Emor: Shabbos Rest AND Exhilaration
A Curious Phrase
The lyrics to a popular Jewish children’s song proclaim, “If I would have the might I would run into the night and I would cry SHABBOS, SHABBOS, SHABBOS, SHABBOS.” Shabbos means to rest, but running around and screaming Shabbos doesn’t sound overly restful to me. What is the …
Tzav: From the Bottom Up
The Mirror
Before the priests entered the Temple they performed ablutions at the Laver.[1] We too perform ablutions before prayer though it is not at a special laver; it is at the regular sink. The idea behind washing our hands is to wash away the negative emotions that cloud our minds …
Bo: The Curse of Wealth
Too Rich To Care
The curse of wealth is well documented. People win the lottery, find themselves with more money than they know what to do with and before long are besieged by friends who want a handout, strangers who encourage foolish investments and con artists who seek to clean them …
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 …
B’har: Going on Holiday
Sabbatical
I love the Sabbath, I really do. It’s a twenty-four hour break from monotony. The tedium of routine that constitutes our week can wear us down. The Sabbath is like going on holiday. It rides in on Friday evening, like a knight in shining armor, to save us from ourselves.
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Noach: Selfish as a Raven
Is it Craven?
In contrast to Edgar Allen Poe, who suggested in his famous poem, The Raven, that though its crest is shorn and shaven, the raven isn’t craven, the Talmudic sages were not so kindly disposed.
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