I still remember the first day I woke up brilliant. It was a cool autumn morning, with a light layer of frost coating the front lawn and the windshield of my car. Instead of thinking, “I’m going to need a…
There are many times where we look back at history and say to ourselves, “We really could have used technology X back then, what a difference it would have made.” The application of this line of thinking is almost limitless.…
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 Midianites…
There is probably only one synagogue in the world where the congregants have to bundle up in heavy coats and hats in order to attend services in the main sanctuary in the winter. I’d also imagine that there is only…
Pinchas תשפ Hashem chose Moshe to lead the Jewish people and to take them out of Egypt. In Exodus, the Torah shares various incidents about Moshe that clearly show us Moshe’s sterling character and what made him the quintessential leader.…
Parshat Chukat תשפ This week’s Torah reading is the double portion of Chukat and Balak. This essay, however, discusses only Chukat, the literal translation of which is “the edict of,” and, in context, “This is the edictחק) ) of the…
To say that the Kellogg family grew up in austerity would be an understatement on par with saying that surgery without anesthesia might tingle a bit. As strict Seventh Day Adventists, the Kellogg family believed that indulging in any luxuries…
Parshat Korach This week’s Torah portion is named for Korach, the great and holy man who fomented a rebellion against Moshe. Although Jewish history characterizes Korach as the example of one who created a rebellion for his own selfish reasons,…
There are two kinds of people in the world: People who live to do any stunt that will take them close enough to death that they can run their fingers through its hair, and people who like to watch them…
Behaalotcha תשפ On the night of the 15th of Nissan, 3,332 years ago, the Jewish people fulfilled the mitzva of eating matza for the first time at the seder. After eating the afikomen (dessert - a piece of the Pascal…