This week’s Torah portion speaks of the mysterious lesions that appeared on the skin of those who trafficked in gossip. Their punishment was at once severe and precise: they were cast into isolation for up to three weeks, until their affliction healed.
The Torah enumerates many forms of ritual impurity. Some …
The Arithmetic of Light
Every Jewish child masters the Chanukah arithmetic long before graduating from kindergarten. We light one candle on the first night, two on the second, three on the third, till we reach night number eight. In fact every child takes special pleasure in kindling their very own Chanukiah. …
The Shelf Life
I have seen it as often as you have. Someone loses a loved one, family, friends and acquaintances close ranks around them, attend Shivah, coordinate details, bring food and provide comfort. Then Shivah ends, everyone bids the bereaved farewell and return to daily life.
It is now post Shivah, …
A story is told of a man who was struggling along with an obviously heavy sack slung over his shoulder. The weather was hot and humid making his task arduous and tiring. A passer-by, clearly intrigued by this individual, asked him what it was that he had in the sack. …
Many Helping Hands
Ben Zoma used to say,”How many labors Adam carried out before he obtained bread to eat! He plowed, he sowed, he reaped, he bound, he threshed and winnowed and selected the ears, he ground, and sifted, he kneaded and baked, and then at last he ate; whereas I …
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 …
