Do The Right Thing!
There is an interesting story told in the Book of Judges, Chapter 17. Someone by the name of Michiyahu founded an idolatrous cult. He had an idol and built a temple for this purpose. He sought someone with leadership qualities, charisma and spirituality to lead his...
Lets Have an Argument
The Talmud tells us that when two Torah scholars fight, although they may even appear to hate each other, at the end there will be love and peace between them. The reason is that their fighting is for the sake of Heaven. Let us pray that our intentions should always be for the sake of Heaven, so that true peace can prevail.
Quiet Time
In today's parsha we read how Moshe argued with G-d about his competence to carry G-d's message to Pharaoh to release the Jews. "The children of Israel did not listen to me," he says, "Why should Pharaoh?" (Exod. 6:12). This is a form of argument, widely used by the...
Do It Anyway
Here is one of the less discussed miracles that took place in Egypt. The pharaoh of Egypt had decreed that all the Jewish boy babies were to be drowned at birth. Yocheved, Moses' mother, hides her newborn Moses for 3 months and then places her baby in a caulked wicker...
The Secret to Forgiveness
I remember taking a walk with my wife in one of the towns along the Hudson. We stumbled upon an art gallery. From the window we could see an unusual amount of Judaica so we decided to walk in. In fact the proprietor was an Israeli woman, happy to see us she began...
Why Would Great Men Want To Kill Their Brother?
If the sons of Yaakov were such great men why did they want to kill their brother? The sons of Yaakov were all great men. The Medrash draws a metaphor to a king who wanted to build a beautiful palace. He tried building it on one support pillar and it collapsed. On...
Our Very Own Esav
There were times that the Jews were attacked by an Esav who murdered and robbed. There were times when Jews had to resist the lure of pagan glamour. There were times when Esav came with scholarship and with ministerial robes and there were times that Esav spoke of love, caring and a yearning to show us a better way to heaven. All the Esav’s of history had one thing in common. They endeavored to stop the Jews from leading their own unique spiritual life and have them abandon their nationalistic aspirations. Somehow we have survived them all.
G-D’s Favorite People
In this week's parsha, we read how Isaac married Rebecca. "And Isaac entreated the L-rd opposite [`lenochach'] his wife, because she was barren; and the L-rd let Himself be entreated by him, and Rebecca his wife conceived" (Gen. 25:21). Rashi explains "lenochach" by...
The Heart of a Gadol
When I was a young Yeshiva bochur I was impressed with intelligence. I looked at the Gedolim and was in awe of their intellect. They seemed to know everything. Now, as I get older I’m less impressed with intellect and much more taken with their kindness. People tell...
