Midlife Crisis?
If you're stuck - you can not be a leader of the Jewish people. If you're stuck - you can not be a Prophet. If you're stuck - you can not be a Torah scholar. There were at least two million Jews traveling together with Moshe in the desert. Amongst them...
Tezaveh – God Wants a Home!
Four decades ago I came to New York to attend yeshiva. I heard so much about Yeshiva but it was the first time I ever saw one. I was nervous but I was excited. When we walked up the walkway to the building it was recess time. I saw tens of boys playing handball...
Gold Plated Judaism
G-d commanded Moses: "Make an ark of acacia wood, 2 1/2 cubits long, 1 1/2 cubits wide and 1 1/2 cubits high. Cover it with a layer of pure gold on the inside and outside, and make a gold rim all around its top" (Exod. 25:10). The Talmud explains that the practical...
The Big Picture
A serious change took place with the Jewish people. In Egypt, Moshe had observed that the people he was to lead were a difficult people. He had seen Jews beating each other and informing on each other. He was frustrated by how they didn't get along, and complained...
When Jews Show Passion
At the splitting of the sea we finally showed some emotion and passion.
When Jews Show Passion
Dedicated by the Sitzer family in memory of their grandmother and my great aunt, Chaya Rachel bas Menashe Sitzer a"h (nee Haber) who left this world in 5735 (1975). She arrived in the United States from Europe in 1921 with 3 children (the fourth child was born in...
Clap Your Hands!
Jewish history has shown two models for leadership. There is the leader who serves as a peacemaker and will negotiate, compromise, and reconcile for peace at any expense. He or she radiates and is driven by chesed and absolutely cannot stand to see another Jew in...
Who Are We Anyway?
Yaakov looked at his grandchildren and exclaimed: Mee Eileh? Who are these boys? Yaakov wasn't blind. Yitzchak was. Yitzchak couldn't tell Yaakov from Esav, he was blind. But now, Yosef brings his two sons Efraim and Menashe to his ailing father Yaakov. Yaakov...
When We Witness Disgrace
The story of Yosef defies imagination. Picture yourself stuck in a dangerous pit, crawling with poisonous snakes, screaming out for help while catching a glimpse of your brothers sitting down to break bread, ignoring your pleas for mercy. When they finish eating they...
