WHAT IS SO BAD ABOUT COVETING? Every year, some time in mid-winter, we read parshat Yitro which, most famously, contains the “Aseret HaDivrot” what most of the Judeo-Christian world calls the Ten Commandments. It has been said that all the other 603 mitzvot can be derived from these ten utterances. It has also been said Continue Reading »
LECH L’CHA: WHAT IS AVRAM (LATER AVRAHAM) REALLY SUPPOSED TO BE DOING In the third parasha in the book of B’reishit (Genesis) God tells Avram (chapter 12 verse 1) “Go forth from your native land and from your father’s house to the land I will show you”. The language in the Torah lech l’cha, “Go… Continue Reading »
HUMANITY IN THE SEASON OF TESHUVAH The last few verses of Psalm 146, which we recite every morning as part of P’sukei D’Zimra tell us Adonai frees the bound Adonai gives sight to the blind Adonai raises those bowed down, and loves the just Adonai protects the stranger, supports the widow and the orphan, Continue Reading »
FINDING TORAH AND INSPIRATION IN ADVERSITY My wife and I, along with several other people from our community, traveled to Israel recently for a wedding. Most of the people reading this essay have heard all or parts of the story of this trip/adventure. The war with Iran broke out. Our eight-day trip became eighteen days. Continue Reading »
HOW ARE MEGILLAT RUTH AND SHAVUOT CONNECTED There are several holidays when one the “megillot” included in the Ketuvim section of the TaNaKh, (the Hebrew Bible) is read in conjunction with the holiday. Most notably is the reading of the book of Esther during Purim. We also read Kohelet (Ecclesiastes) at the end of Sukkot Continue Reading »
REFLECTIONS ON PESACH Passover (Pesach) is an intriguing, and, in some ways conflicting) holiday. Some people get so absorbed in the physical preparations that they forget the real religious aspect of what we are observing and celebrating. All the folks (sadly, mostly women) who are responsible for the pre-Pesach cleaning, shopping and food preparation feel Continue Reading »
TERUMAH: MAKE FOR ME A SANCTUARY (How does this apply today) At the beginning of Parashat Teruma, starting at Shemot (Exodus) Chapter 25, God tell Moses to tell the Israelite people to bring God gifts as their hearts move them. These gifts of various valuables whether precious metals, cloths, fragrant oils and the such are Continue Reading »
IGNORE YOUR HISTORY AT YOUR RISK The second book of the Torah, Shemot, tells us that a new king arose in Egypt who did not know Joseph. How could he not know Joseph? Surely, having ascended to the throne after Joseph’s death, he did not now Joseph personally, but, even if he was a few Continue Reading »
WHAT MAKES ABRAHAM BETTER THAN NOAH There seems to be a general consensus that Abraham was a better man, better human being than Noah. I do not believe that we should dismiss Noah as a Tzaddik, a righteous person, however. Noah, imperfect though he MIGHT have been, still serves as a role model. In Sefer Continue Reading »
IT’S ALL CONNECTED Sometimes, to most of us, the various holidays and observances in the Jewish calendar seem unrelated to each other. They feel like each is discreet and stand-alone. We might say, in early March “ok, Purim is coming” and start to think of Hamentashen and megillah reading. Or, in December we think about Continue Reading »
