Parshat Mishpatim תשפג And, Parshat Mishpatim starts off in a peculiar way (Exodus 21:1). The Hebrew text begins with a “ו“, which translates as “And,” a word usually used to connect two ideas or concepts. But this is the beginning of a new…
Mondays with Meaning | Mrs. Sara Aliza Scheinberg
"I do agree with a lot of the core beliefs of PETA," I exclaimed as I cut myself another piece of succulent roast beef, pausing only to dip it in béarnaise sause before eating it with gusto. My guest looked…
Thursday Lunch and Learn | Rabbi Leiby Burnham
Yitro תשפ"ג Hashem created this world and everything in it with a purpose, which Hashem revealed in the Torah’s very first word. As Rashi explains (Genesis 1:1): א) בְּרֵאשִׁית בָּרָא אֱלֹקים אֵת הַשָּׁמַיִם וְאֵת הָאָרֶץ: 1) In the beginning…
Thursday Lunch and Learn | Rabbi Leiby Burnham
Under the soil in southern Louisiana are mountains of salt the size of Mt Everest. When Hashem was creating the many miracles of creation, one of them was that the land beneath our feet would always be shifting and churning,…
Beshalach תשפ"ג To Take or Not to Take; that is the Question! When our forefather Avraham Avivu was seventy years old, at the ברית בין הבתרים - the Covenant of the Pieces, Hashem told him (Genesis 15:13-14) that his grandchildren would be slaves…
Bo תשפג A Confirmation for the Oral Torah The commandment to wear tefillin is written four times in the Torah. Indeed, each paragraph of the Torah containing that command constitutes the “script” that a scribe writes on parchment, which he then…
There are zoos, and there are animal parks. Zoos are built in large metropolitan areas, animal parks rise up in the deep country. Zoos have concrete pathways, food courts, and train rides, animal parks have dirt paths, food trucks, and…