Bamidbar 5784-2024
“Lessons from Traveling in the Wilderness”
(updated and revised from Bamidbar 5765-2005)
Parashat Bamidbar goes into great detail when describing the setup of the encampment of the ancient Israelites as they traveled and encamped in the wilderness. These details, seemingly insignificant, provide essential lessons for Jews, lessons that must be mastered and implemented in our own lives, to ensure the survival of our people.
0 Comments6 Minutes
Bamidbar 5783-2023
“Surviving the Wilderness”
(updated and revised from Bamidbar 5764-2004)
Bamidbar--the wilderness--is not just an experience in the desert. The wilderness represents the challenge of Jews to survive in hostile environments, and provides the keys for Jewish survival in those environments. Bamidbar teaches that the strength of family, the centrality of G-d and devotion to Torah, are the elixirs of Jewish life.
0 Comments5 Minutes
Simchat Torah 5781-2020
“Celebrating Torah”
(Updated and revised from Simchat Torah 5764-2003)
Torah does not just punctuate, it permeates, the life of a Jew. Torah is meant to be nothing less than the Jews' preoccupation, all of the days and nights of one's life. Like the air that is breathed, or the heart that beats within a human chest, there is no possibility of Jewish life void of Torah.
0 Comments8 Minutes
Shelach 5780-2020
“The Torah’s Definition of ‘Power”
(Revised and Updated from Parashat Shelach 5761-2001)
After the sin of the scouts, G-d wishes to destroy the Jewish people. Moses, however, argues with G-d that true “power” means not to destroy, but to forgive, to convert and to transfer from one strongly held attitude to another. G-d and Moses thus ascribe a new meaning to the concept of “power.”
0 Comments7 Minutes
Lech Lecha 5780-2019
“Understanding the Ritual of Circumcision”
(updated and revised from Lech Lecha 5760-1999)
The ritual of circumcision, performed on the eighth day on the flesh of the Jewish male, has always been the fundamental mark of identity for the Jewish man. There are those who say that the letting of blood during the circumcision is a constant reminder that the Jewish people must live by their blood. It may also mean that whether the Jewish people live or die will be determined by the organ that is circumcised. After all, Jewish destiny depends upon how the Jewish males choose to use their sexual organ.
0 Comments8 Minutes
Terumah 5779-2019
“The Mishkan: Underscoring the Centrality of the Home in Jewish Life”
The Mishkan–the Tabernacle–is very much like a home, and has all the furnishings that are found in a home. The fact that our synagogue is called a Beit Kinesset, a house of coming together, underscores the importance of the home. Unless our homes serve as dwelling places for G-d, there will be little chance that our religion will be effectively communicated in our synagogues or in our temples.
0 Comments14 Minutes
Bamidbar 5765-2005
"Lessons from Traveling in the Wilderness"
Parashat Bamidbar goes into great detail regarding the setup of the encampment of the ancient Israelites as they lived and traveled in the wilderness. These details, seemingly insignificant, provide essential lessons for Jews, lessons that we should master, and implement in our own lives, thus insuring the survival of our people.
0 Comments6 Minutes
Bamidbar 5764-2004
"Surviving the Wilderness"
Bamidbar--the wilderness--is not just an experience in the desert. The wilderness represents the challenge of Jews to survive in hostile environments and provides the keys for Jewish survival in those environments. Bamidbar teaches that the strength of family, the centrality of G-d and devotion to Torah are the elixirs of Jewish life.
0 Comments5 Minutes
Simchat Torah 5764-2003
"Celebrating Torah"
Torah does not just punctuate, it permeates, the life of a Jew. Torah is meant to be nothing less than the Jews' preoccupation, all of the days and nights of one's life. Like the air that is breathed, or the heart that beats within a human chest, there is no possibility of Jewish life absent of Torah.
0 Comments8 Minutes
Shelach 5761-2001
"The Torah's Definition of Power"
After the sin of the scouts, G-d wishes to destroy the Jewish people. Moses, however, argues with G-d that true "power" means not to destroy, but to forgive, to convert and to transfer from one strongly held attitude to another. G-d and Moses thus ascribe a new meaning to the concept of "power."
0 Comments7 Minutes
Lech Lecha – 5760-1999
"Understanding the Rite of Circumcision"
The ritual of circumcision, performed on the flesh of the Jewish male, has always been the fundamental mark of identity for the Jewish man. There are those who say that the letting of blood during the circumcision is a constant reminder that the Jewish people must live by their blood. It may also mean that the Jewish people live (or die) by the organ that is circumcised. After all, Jewish destiny depends upon how the Jewish male chooses to use his sexual organ. If Jewish men marry Jewish women and build strong Jewish families, then the covenant of G-d and the Jewish people will be affirmed. If, however, Jewish males allow themselves to be seduced and proceed to sow in foreign fields, then the covenant between G-d and the Jewish people is not only threatened, but may very likely be lost forever.
0 Comments8 Minutes