Vayakhel 5776-2016
“The Wise-Hearted Person” by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald One of the dominant terms found in this week’s parasha, parashat Vayakhel, is the expression חֲכַם לֵב, a wise-hearted person.…
At The End Of The World
While Judaism is, for the most part, focused on the here and now (with a solid amount of regard for the past), it does have its own eschatology. Eschatology is theology concerning what…
Connecting Words
According to the internet’s fun holiday websites, January 18th is Thesaurus Day. The date is in honor of the creator of the first modern thesaurus, [Peter Mark] Roget’s Thesaurus. A…
Singing About the “Woman of Valor”
Aishet Chayil, “The Woman of Valor,” which is traditionally sung at the Shabbat table on Friday nights, is actually a selection of verses from the Book of Proverbs (31:10-31) written by…
Proverbial Path
In the Book of Proverbs it is written: “A person’s heart devises his way, but the Lord directs his steps” (ibid. 16:9). This is, perhaps, the origin of the common phrase, “Man plans, God…
Out of the Narrows
The fourth of the Ten Commandments is the observance of Shabbat. In Exodus, the Jews are commanded: “Remember (zachor) the Sabbath day” because “in six days God created the heavens and…
What Wood
A large portion of the Book of Exodus describes the lengthy instructions for the building of the Mishkan/portable Tabernacle and its actual construction. Among the many fascinating…
The Original Employee Discount
Those who work in retail are often compensated with a special employee discount on goods sold in the store. In the days before retail, when the majority of the population worked in…
Excuse Me, Is It Possible…
“Don’t be chutzpadik” is the modern Hebrew equivalent of the classic American parenting admonition: “Don’t be fresh!” and “Don’t talk back!” The challenges of parenting have always…
What You Know
Astronomy plays an important role in Jewish life because it is the means by which we calculate the months and, therefore, the holidays--based on the cycles of the moon. Astrology…