Can you handle the pain?
Parshat Bechukotai 5782

Can you handle the pain? Parshat Bechukotai 5782

I could hear the screams from the other side of the door. A good friend of mine had just undergone back surgery a few days earlier, and I was trying to do the right thing by visiting him, but the yelps of pain were making me reconsider that decision. The door to his home was

Are you financially literate?
Parshat Behar 5782

Are you financially literate? Parshat Behar 5782

Let’s talk about money for a moment. You probably think you understand money. You may be right, you may be wrong; but let’s start with a little test to see how much you know about money. 1. Suppose you had $100 in a savings account and the interest rate was 2 percent per year. After five

You will Burn Ice!
Parshat Emor

You will Burn Ice! Parshat Emor

The information in this essay is largely taken from an article called “What if we never run out of oil?” in The Atlantic magazine. You will burn ice. Not soon, but G-d willing, if you stick around for another decade or two, you will burn ice. You will burn ice when you drive to work,

Parshat Emor 5782

Parshat Emor תשפב In this week’s portion, Emor, the Torah (Leviticus 23:10) instructs us to bring the Omer barley sacrifice: (י) דַּבֵּר אֶל בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל וְאָמַרְתָּ אֲלֵהֶם כִּי תָבֹאוּ אֶל הָאָרֶץ אֲשֶׁר אֲנִי נֹתֵן לָכֶם וּקְצַרְתֶּם אֶת קְצִירָהּ וַהֲבֵאתֶם אֶת עֹמֶר רֵאשִׁית קְצִירְכֶם אֶל הַכֹּהֵן 10) Speak to the Israelites and tell them, “When

Stinky Gold
Parshat Kedoshim 5782

Stinky Gold Parshat Kedoshim 5782

Fertilizer. It’s the stinkiest, dirtiest pile of blessing you can get your hands on. Laying fresh fertilizer on your field may not leave you looking like Mr. Clean, but it will make your crops look like they were taking whatever Lance Armstrong was taking. Fertilizer has been in use for thousands of years. It is

Can I get you some erbium with that?
Parshat Acharei Mot 5782

Can I get you some erbium with that? Parshat Acharei Mot 5782

Natural resources are a hot topic right now, as the earth continues to fill with more people but not more resources. In the era of technological leaps and blindingly fast innovation, humans also seek more resources than ever before. In the past, cobalt was used for nothing other than a deep rich blue dye, but