Articles:
Lech Lecha 1999
I'm going to give you Eretz Yisroel; it will be yours and your children’s. This is what G-d said to Abraham. G-d said this to Abraham in person; Abraham didn’t have to rely on Mesorah, transmission or old texts. Hashem said it to him and Abraham heard it. Abraham’s...
Abraham’s Message
The following drasha was given at the Saranac Synagogue in Buffalo on Shabbat Lech Lecha 5749 (1988), and transcribed from memory by Jeffery Zucker. in today's parsha we read about Abram's travels. He did not travel alone. Apart from his many followers, he had three...
Lech Lecha 1999
I'm going to give you Eretz Yisroel; it will be yours and your children’s. This is what G-d said to Abraham. G-d said this to Abraham in person; Abraham didn’t have to rely on Mesorah, transmission or old texts. Hashem said it to him and Abraham heard it. Abraham’s...
Lech-Lecha 5761/2000
Noach spent 120 years building an ark, deliberately stretching it out so that people would ask questions, hear about the oncoming world crisis and repent. For one hundred and twenty years Noach prophesied the end of the world --yet not even one single Baal Teshuvah....
Lech Lecha 5762/2001
Today we review the story of Abraham, the founding father of Judaism. From what we know about Avrohom Avinu we can be very proud of our roots. Avrohom was a great philosopher. Avrohom was a great teacher. Avrohom was a man of unyielding principals - ready to give up...
Whole Life
"Sarah was a hundred years and twenty years and seven years, these were the years of Sarah" (Bereishis 23:1). Rashi comments that from the unusual phraseology we learn that all her years were good. "Abraham was a hundred years and seventy years and five years" (ibid....
Teshuvah – Bringing Out the Beauty of Our Souls
There is a standard metaphor that we are taught as children. On the Day of Judgment God, the judge, sits on His chair with a large scale in front of him. Not a digital scale or the type of scale that you would see in the butcher shop or the vegetable store but an old...
Exposed to the Elements (Sukkos 2000)
I have become addicted to the news. I get news about Eretz Yisroel wherever I can. I have become an Arutz Sheva junkie wondering why they haven't updated in the past five minutes. I call Israel. I wake up with my clock radio blaring news and I talk to anyone who...
The Information Age
There is a story I have been selling all week. Someone came to his Rabbi with a serious problem. Yom Kippur is coming and the Mets game comes out the same time as Kol Nidrei! The Rabbi put his arm comfortingly on the shoulder of his congregant and said Marvin, what...
How Much Are You Worth?
In the story of the Creation of the world, it is recorded that "G-d blessed the seventh day" (Gen. 2:3). How did He bless the Sabbath? According to Rashi, He blessed it with manna, by providing a double portion on Fridays, while the Israelites were in the desert. This...
Which Side is G-d On?
In Koheles (Ecclesiastes), the book of Solomon's wisdom, there appears the statement: "ve-H' yevakesh es-nirdaf", (Eccl. 3:15), which can be translated as: "And G-d seeks out him who is pursued", or perhaps: "And G-d favors the underdog". The Midrash quotes R. Yossi...
Kadish For the Cardinal
This morning I read with interest about the funeral arrangements for Cardinal Jean-Marie Lustiger. The longtime archbishop of Paris, a confidant of late Pope John Paul II, asked that the Kadish be recited at his funeral in front of Notre Dame this morning. It is said...
Why Noah Feldman Was Left Out Of His Class Picture
This past week six different friends of mine forwarded to me an article from the New York Times Magazine Section written by Noah Feldman. Most of them introduced the article by explaining to me how brilliant Noah is. His academic journey took him from Maimonides...
Spirituality – Finding Our Purpose
My experience has been that most people investigate Judaism for one reason and one reason only: they are in search of spirituality. Most thinking people reach a point where they feel there must be another dimension in life. From the moment a person begins to enjoy a...
Korach 2005
Historically it has been the division between Jews that has caused us to lose our land. Jerusalem has turned orange. It?s almost impossible to walk or drive on the streets of Yerushalayim without seeing dozens of orange ribbons tied to car mirrors, antennas,...
Korach 2003
Just because we are acting with perseverance, courage and self-sacrifice it doesn?t mean that we are acting with nobility. Last week, while on vacation, I watched a documentary that made a huge impression on me. ?Walking In to Thin Air? is a true story about an...
Shlach 2005
It is very simple. G-d gave us a gift and we snubbed it. What you have been searching for all your life may be right in front of you, but you won?t see it unless G-d opens your eyes. You can be standing in front of your soul mate for 100 years and unless G-d opens...
Shlach 2003
You can stand next to your soul mate for 100 years and not even know it. You can stand next to the thing you are looking for all your life, but you won?t see it unless G-d opens your eyes. You can stand next to your soul mate for 100 years, and unless G-d opens your...