Get Out There!
Parshat Eikev
The closer you get to the fire, the hotter it gets. The closer you get to the band the louder the music gets. The closer you get to the rain the cozier it gets. Last week our family went on…
Get Out There!
Parshat Eikev 5778
Parshat Eikev In this week’s portion we come to the only ברכה - blessing mandated by the Torah according to all opinions. This blessing is the ברכת המזון - Birkat Hamazon, the Grace after meals. It is derived from…
Sorry, but You are so Pavlovian!
Parshat Vaetchanan
Do you know anyone who fancies himself a connoisseur? Do they feel they are an aficionado, cognizant of the essential differences between designer garb and inferior clothing? Or perhaps they consider themselves true gourmands, people who know how to appreciate…
Parshat Vaetchanan 5778
Parshat Vaetchanan This week’s portion, ואתחנן - Vaetchanan, which means “and I implored,” seems to begin in the middle of nowhere. Following the description in the end of the previous portion of how the Jewish people decimated the two…
The Palace That Lies Empty
Parshat Devarim/Tisha B’Av 5778
The King, the kind, benevolent monarch, ruled well for years, but around him hung the gloom of childlessness. He would have no one upon whom to bequeath his mantle of leadership. Everything he built would be for naught. There would…
Tisha B’Av 5778
Tisha B’Av Napoleon once passed a shul in Paris on Tisha B’Av. Hearing crying and wailing coming from inside and thinking that there was something terrible going on, he stepped inside to see what he could do to help. What…
When Too Much is Too Much
Parshat Matot Masei 5778
Some guys in tri-cornered hats sacrificed everything so that you can have the liberty to eat 69 hotdogs and buns in 10 minutes. Happy Birthday America. America is a great country. We are the world leading democracy, and our beliefs…
Parshat Matot-Masei 5778
Parshat Matot – Masei תשע"ח In this week’s double portion, (depending on the year and on what days the holidays fall out, sometimes two weekly portions are read together) Hashem charges Moshe with his final task: retaliation against the…