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What Type of Person Am I? Everything that the Eternal has said, we will do, and we will listen! (Shemot 24:7). At first glance, it seems that the order of this crucial expression in Judaism “na’aseh venishma” goes against logic, since we would usually do it after we hear it, and not without knowing what […]
Truth or Consequences! Parashah Ki Tissa begins with the LORD telling Moses: ‘When you take a census of the children of Israel… every man shall give ‘kaper nafsho l’YHVH’– a ransom (literally a cover) for his soul to the LORD … so that there will be no plague among them…” I wondered about this plague. […]
Is our life all smoke and mirrors? This section of the Torah deals with the Mishkan, the Sanctuary in the desert that the Creator asked Moshe to build. Remember these portions are not chronological e.g., here Aaron, his four children and Nadav and Abihu offering stranger fire comes before their inauguration. As your rabbi, I […]
What drives the heart? In chapter 6:6-8 of Micah, the prophet asks a profound question: “With what shall I appear before the Lord, and bow down before the Most High God?” The question is, as a mere mortal what can I offer the Eternal? Doesn’t the verse in Tehillim, Psalms 146:6 say about the Eternal […]
“From the River to the Sea…” Our rabbi always said, “Don’t get caught up in the details when reading the Torah, but ask yourselves… “to whom was God speaking, when and where?” The Israelites had just been freed from years of slavery in Egypt, a nation with many gods, superstitions, idolatry, death cults, etc. It […]
If God is with us, who can be against us? In this portion of the Torah, Yitro (named after a Gentile), the Israelites received the Ten Sayings or Commandments. This is not only Israel’s constitution, it is also for the entire world. There is so much to learn from the revelation of the Bore Olam, […]
Live freely! “And Israel saw the great power that the Lord exercised against the Egyptians, and the people feared the Lord, and they believed in the LORD and Moses His servant.” (Shemot 14:31) This verse is so profound that it made me think of the development of emunah (faith) in our lives. If we step […]
What is the Purpose of God’s Signs? The first two verses of Parashat Bo say, “Then YHVH said to Moses, ‘Go to Pharaoh for I have hardened his heart and the hearts of his servants so that I may display My signs among them and so that you may recount to your child and your […]
Are we Slaves or are we Free? In Parashat Vaera (“He appeared”), the Creator appeared to Moshe saying that He did not make Himself known to his forefathers Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob asיהוה Yud Heh Vav Heh (YHVH). This could seem to be misleading because they knew the name YHVH. The verb “to know” implies […]
Who am I? “And these are the names of the children of Israel who entered Egypt……Shemot 1:1.” This verse and the development of this parashah bring to mind the importance of having a name, an identity, an origin, and a future. A main principle in the Human Rights Act of 1959 establishes that “The child […]
