Beyond Their Means
It goes without saying that life would be simpler if all things were black and white. Alas, however, we live in a world filled with many shades of grey. An excellent example of this is…
What Is Chabad?
Chabad-Lubavitch is a chassidic movement founded by Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi (1745-1812) in the White Russian town of Lubavitch. Chabad is an acronym for chochma (wisdom), binah…
An Act of True Kindness
Death is one of the unquestionable facts of life. Yet, most people would admit being uncomfortable with the idea of being in a room with a dead body. Seeing a corpse is a “too close”…
Put On A Happy Face
"When one shows his teeth [smiles] to his fellow man, it is better than giving him milk to drink" (Talmud Ketubot 111b). How does the song go? “When you’re smiling the whole world smiles…
In Tune
Can you read Jewish music? No, not the sheet music to Fiddler on the Roof or Havah Nagillah. Trope, the musical cantillation used by Torah readers to sing-chant the holy words, is a…
Frequent Flyer Miles
As far back as the mid-1800s, rabbis wrestled with the question of the growing mobility of the populace. Since there were no new lands to be discovered, those of an exploring nature were…
Don’t Roll Your Eyes At Me
The plaintive cry of exasperation, “Don’t roll your eyes at me!” that parents often address to their children is one that each person should consider saying to him/herself, omitting, of…
The Flag Of Israel
The Israeli flag was specifically designed with stripes to recall the image of a tallit - the Jewish prayer shawl. Its top and bottom blue stripes are reminiscent of the sky and the sea.…
An Extraordinary Run
When Harold Maurice Abrahams was born on December 15, 1899, movies were short, silent and black-and-white. It would have been impossible to imagine that this newborn baby boy would one…
Bo 5781-2021
“The Slave Mentality” (updated and revised from Bo 5761–2001) by, Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald This week’s parasha, parashat Bo, concludes the Torah’s narrative of parashat Va’eira, of the…