They Called Him “Two-Gun”
The nickname “Two-Gun” evokes images of a rough-shaven cowboy in the Wild West. Actually, the nickname belonged to one Morris “Moishe” Cohen. An immigrant child from Poland to London,…
Knock, Knock, Who’s There
It is basic courtesy to knock on a closed door and wait to be admitted by those inside. Did you know that this simple matter of etiquette was discussed by the sages and has far greater…
Cleaning The Water
This year, National Geography Awareness Week (this week) has chosen the theme of “freshwater.” The Torah is laden with prohibitions against harming the environment. Soldiers may not cut…
His Wife Saved His Life
Ohn the son of Pelet was a Reubenite who fell under the sway of a rebellious Levite named Korach. Korach felt that a great injustice had been perpetrated in Aaron’s appointment to the…
Curses Turned To Blessings
“How glorious are your tents, Jacob, your dwellings, Israel. As valleys stretched out, as gardens by the river-side; as aloes planted by God, as cedars beside the waters” (Numbers…
Day of Distinction
On the first day of Sivan in the year 2448 (Jewish calendar), only seven weeks after leaving Egypt, the Israelites reached the Wilderness of Sinai. On the desert plain around the…
The Jews of Finland
For most European countries, the history of its Jewish presence begins some time in, or before the Dark Ages and is accented by varying periods of exile or oppression. Since Jews were not…
The Longest 250 Miles: Sadat’s Bold Flight
Imagine America’s foremost enemy addressing a joint session of Congress? You can’t; it’s almost impossible to envision such a scenario actually taking place. But, such a miraculous event…
Kee Tisah 5781-2021
“Reverence for Learning in Jewish Tradition” (updated and revised from Kee Tisah 5763-2003) In this week’s parasha, parashat Kee Tisah, we read of the fateful sin of the Jewish people…
Surviving and Leading
Although born in Hungary in 1904, Rabbi Yehoshua (Joshua) Menachem Ehrenberg was living in Krakow when the Nazis began their systematic destruction of European Jewry. The city of Krakow,…