In a small village in Lithuania, a young boy named Berel received a bicycle as a gift. Berel loved his bike and drove it every day, including Shabbat. The Rabbi heard about this and announced that Berel should henceforth be referred to as Berel the goy—the non-Jew. Berel heard about …
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Ignoring others is something we do when we become overly engrossed in ourselves. It often happens when we experience distress and difficulty. We revert inwardly, shrink into ourselves, become self absorbed. We aren’t intentionally ignoring others; we are just too focused on ourselves to let others in.
The truth is that …
This week we discover that Jews are full of hot air. The story of the spies is recounted by Moses in the first portion of the book of Deuteronomy. He relates the negative report that the spies brought back from Israel and the fact that Jews believed this report and …
During the course of this week Jews around the world celebrate the holiday of Chanukah. Chanukah means so many things to so many people. To some it is a spiritual opportunity for reflection and introspection; to reflect upon the historical origin of the holiday and its relevance to modern day …
What do the seventeenth of Tamuz, the ninth of Av, and the first day of Passover have in common? They always fall on the same day of the week.
How does that make any sense? The first day of Passover represents the redemption of our ancestors from Egypt that sparked their …
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 …
