Asher, Son of Jacob
Asher was the second son born to Zilpah, Jacob's wife, the former handmaid of Leah. The ninth son in the household (after Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Dan, Naphtali and Gad), he…
Weights and Measures
The last century has seen the rise, fall and transformation of several major economic-political philosophies (socialism, communism, capitalism). The primary economic philosophy of the…
Twice the Tithe
Charity (tzedakah) is an integral part of both Jewish life and Jewish law. And while giving charity is most certainly a value that goes beyond the bounds of any specific religion, in…
The Giving Of The Get
Just as a Jewish marriage requires a ketubah (marriage contract), so too a Jewish divorce requires a get (bill of divorce). The ketubah is a contractual agreement in which the groom…
Ethics of the Fathers
Ethics - it’s a big word in our day and age. Between political corruption and financial misdeeds, it is easy to wonder what ever happened to even the most basic ethical standards.…
Baron Edmond James de Rothschild
Although he came from a prominent banking family and was employed in the family bank, Baron Edmond James de Rothschild (August 19, 1845 - November 2, 1934) was best known for his love of…
Locate Your Friend and Ask for Forgiveness
Whether it was the creation of the wheel, and tools to create and advance civilization, or the discovery of penicillin or the polio vaccine, our lives have changed profoundly because of…
A Dictionary for the Days of Awe
In Maimonides’ Laws of Repentance, he invokes five important and pertinent terms in the first paragraph, that are worth defining. Teshuva – means return, but connotes repentance or…
First On The Court
Born in 1856, in Louisville, Kentucky, Louis Dembitz Brandeis was the child of European immigrants who maintained a minimal Jewish identity. However, his maternal uncle, Lewis Dembitz,…