Can You Make G-d a Cup of Green Tea?
This is a repeat of an email from 12 years ago this week! I hope you enjoy the vintage Shabbos email from time to time! I introduced my wife to the pleasures of good sushi on our seventh date. In…
Ki Savo 5784
In the glorious days of the Holy Temple, every week, in cities all over the Land of Israel, one of the 24 families of Cohanim (and the Levites assigned to them), would meet to travel together to Yerushalayim. There were…
The First Time I Got Shot
Parshas Ki Savo 5783
Taking a walk in the woods can be a pretty mundane activity, but never when you are in Yosemite National Park. In Yosemite, a walk in the woods is a child’s first walk into a candy store. Every bend in…
Some pay for it, some call it torture…
Parshat Ki Tavo 5782
We do like our gyms, us Americans. With about 36,450 gyms spread out across the fifty states, there are more gyms in the USA than McDonalds, Wendy’s and Burger Kings combined! Bringing in over $27 billion a year, the gym,…
Come take a Tour with me!
Parshat Ki Tavo 5781
Prague is the new Paris. A bustling metropolis in the heart of the Continent, a rich history spanning two millennia of prominence, dozens of notable landmarks, and friendly warm natives, combine to give Prague a greater overall tourist experience than…
Parshat Ki Tavo 5781
Ki Tavo תשעט In the glorious days of the Holy Temple, every week, in cities all over the Land of Israel, one of the 24 families of Cohanim, and the Levites assigned to them, would meet to travel together to Jerusalem.…
The Sushi Saga
Parshat Ki Tavo 5780
This is a rerun from a previous Shabbos email, that came out exactly eight years ago. I hope you enjoy! I introduced my wife to the pleasures of good sushi on our seventh date. In just a few hours, my…
Parshat Ki Tavo 5780
Parshat Ki Tavo תשפ This week’s Torah portion Ki Tavo is famous for the תוכחה - the Tochacha. (No English word adequately captures the meaning of Tochacha, but its meaning will become clear as we go along.) The Tochacha comprises…
I’ll Save Your Life, if You Save Mine
Parshat Ki Tavo 5779
This is a true story. The name has been changed. Sasha Bazarov never had it easy. He emigrated to the USA together with his parents from Uzbekistan as a young child. His parents had to leave everything behind, and in…