Articles:
Nachamu!
In many circles Shabbos Nachamu spells vacation. The great summer breather. The three weeks and the nine days are behind us and the High Holidays are not yet here. So, it’s party time. Concerts, barbecues, hiking and a lot of junk food in the Mountains. The Catskills...
All Alone Together
It's tough to be alone. Loneliness is possibly one of the most painful experiences in the human experience. I'm not sure if there is anyone alive that can take being completely alone. We always read Parshas Devarim on the Shabbos preceding Tisha B'Av. There is a...
Wandering
Why do we sing when we travel? While reading this week’s parsha the baal korei will burst into a delightful song. He will not be reading about the splitting of the sea or be announcing the Ten Commandments. Rather, he will be reciting the travelogue of the Jewish...
Be A Pinchas!
I have some very dangerous and risky advice that I give my children and anyone else willing to listen. Be a Pinchas! Don't settle for any injustice and don't get used to seeing wrong. I was marveling at the story of the great Talmudic sage, Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi....
The Power of Zeal
G-d instructed Abraham to take his beloved son Isaac, bind him on to an alter, and sacrifice him to G-d. The Torah reports that Abraham "ROSE UP IN THE MORNING" to perform G-d's will with enthusiasm and zeal. Bilaam intended to place a fatal curse on the Jewish...
The Argument
Many people enjoy a good argument. It helps clarify the issues, it creates a passion, challenges the mind and stimulates the heart. Much of the development of Judaism was through machlokes. Arguments were never considered a tragedy. I can remember being challenged to...
You are What You See
The people of Israel needed to see for themselves. They needed to check out Israel with their own eyes before they would agree to the Land of Israel as their homeland. This little due diligence that they performed, however, had catastrophic consequences which seemed...
The Miriam Vision
Miriam couldn't move and the Jewish people didn't want to wait. The Jewish people were ready to move. They were on their way to Eretz Yisroel. Miriam couldn't move. Miriam became ill with Tzoraas (a form of spiritual leprosy) and had to be in quarantine for seven...
Why is G-D Showing me This Picture?
The Baal Shem Tov once said: If a person, going about their business, encounters something ugly like corruption or violence, he or she should stop and think. Why is G-d showing me this picture? There must be a reason. The scene before us is a mirror, which reflects an...
Holiness in Judaism
In today's parsha we read about the various restrictions applying to kohanim (or "priests", although I am uncomfortable with this translation, for reasons which will become clear). For example, a kohen may not "contaminate himself" ("lo yitama", whatever that means...
Jewish Self Consciousness
Do not shame My holy name; sanctify me amongst the people of Israel, I am G-d. (Vayikra 22; 32) This is a strange juxtaposition. Chilul Hashem is the biggest aveira. Kidush Hashem is the biggest mitzva. One would think that the person prone to making a chilul Hashem...
How to Choose an Orange
In this week’s parsha, we find the Jews journeying in the desert. They have not yet developed a national character—nor do they have a country. But for now they are travelling from one country, Egypt, to another, Canaan, and being warned severely against emulating the...
The Boutique Shul
In order for the world to work as designed, with peace and holiness, the Presence of Hashem, the Shechinah, must be embedded into the world. To achieve this we needed a project that would bring all the tribes of Israel, in spite of their differences, together. The...
Make Yourself Count!
As the band played and the spirits were high on Purim I looked around at the many friends that joined me and realized that perhaps one of the main messages of Purim may be getting lost on all of us. The Jewish people were in trouble. A woman by the name of Ester and a...
Little Things
This week's parsha describes in detail the garb the Kohen had to wear while performing his priestly functions. The purpose of these garments, as explained in the Torah, is "for honor and glory" (Exod. 28:2). If you use any of the wonderful learning aids available...
The Disappointing G-d
The magnificent description of the Sea Splitting and then just forty days later, the prophecy of all prophesies, the Giving of the Torah to Moshe on Mt. Sinai taught the Jewish people that there were no boundaries on this Earth. Anything can happen! If G-d wills it,...
A Call To Action
The great achievement of the Jews during the first Shabbos HaGodol was that they actually performed a deed which was calculated to violate the sensibilities of the Egyptians: they bought Paschal lambs from the Egyptians, and explained to the Egyptians that these lambs...
If You Were G-d
There is an interesting story told in the Book of Judges, Chapter 17. A certain woman left her fortune to her son Michiyahu for the purpose of setting up an idolatorous cult. He had a fancy idol and a temple built for this purpose, but could not find a priest to lead...