We can look at our fellow and just see their faults, or just see their strengths. The Torah enjoins us to see our fellow as golden.
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We often think of ourselves as the little guy. There are all kinds of important people in the world who do important things. I am just a little guy and I do little things.
We even back it up with an argument. The more important something is, the scarcer it tends …
This week we will read a combined Torah portion. The first is called Matot, the second is called Masei. Matot, at least in the context of this passage, means tribes. But mateh also means a stick. Matot means sticks, plural. Masei means journeys. The Torah delineates the forty-two journeys our …
Every year, on the last Shabbat before Elul—the final month of the year, we read a Torah portion that begins with the word reeh—see. The passage reads, “See, I set before you a blessing and a curse. The blessing is that you fulfill the commandments of G-d your G-d that …
Freedom is one of humanity’s fundamental goas. Ever since Moses trumpeted the call, “let my people go,” people the world over valued and treasured freedom. Yet we sometimes apply freedom too narrowly. When we see a person indentured into servitude we chafe at the unfairness of it. When we see …
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 …
