You Think You’re Better than Us? Behar-Bechukotai/ Shavuot 5778
From the time he was seven, everyone knew that Jonah was going to be a lawyer. He could argue his way out of culpability for any backyard tussle, and he could easily persuade even the most hardened babysitter that he…
Parshat Behar – Bechukoti 5778
Behar – Bechukotai Once again, this Shabbat, we will read two portions, Behar and Bechukotai. The first verse in Behar begins in a peculiar way. It says (Leviticus 25:1): ספר ויקרא פרק כה א) וַיְדַבֵּר יְדֹוָד אֶל משֶׁה בְּהַר סִינַי…
The Greatest Existential Threat to Mankind? Parshas Emor 5778
No one argued that Beth did something wrong, but billions of people around the world were profoundly uncomfortable with what she did. Beth was babysitting seven-year-old Zoe Anderson, while her mom worked a night shift at the local hospital. At…
Parshat Emor 5778
Parshat Emor This week’s portion contains the commandment to sanctify Hashem’s name. The verse states (Leviticus 22:32): ספר ויקרא פרק כב לב) וְלֹא תְחַלְּלוּ אֶת שֵׁם קָדְשִׁי וְנִקְדַּשְׁתִּי בְּתוֹךְ בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל אֲנִי יְדֹוָד מְקַדִּשְׁכֶם You shall not desecrate My holy…
Parshat Acharei Mot – Kedoshim 5778
Parshat Acharei Mot- Kedoshim This Shabbat, two Parshiot, אחרי מות --Acharei Mot and קדושים --Kedoshim, will be read. The second portion, קדושים - Kedoshim, begins with a seemingly impossible command. (Leviticus 19:1-2) ספר ויקרא פרק יט א) וַיְדַבֵּר יְדֹוָד אֶל…
The War in Washington
Some would almost call it a lobbyist hobby, arguing over the best restaurants in DC. When you take people out for breakfast lunch and dinner, food becomes a pretty obsessive topic of conversation. Young lobbyists can spend hours discussing who…
Better In or Better Out?
In Wallens Ridge State Prison, people who admitted their guilt were about as rare as fur traders at PETA rallies, but most people seemed to believe Joe “Shifty” Cullen’s protestations of innocence. He would admit to sneaking into an Alexandria,…
If Only I Could Fly All Day
What do you do when you’re a world-class airline without a world-class bank account? This was the question facing American Airlines in 1981. Just two years earlier, Congress passed the Airline Deregulation Act, bringing in massive new competition, lower ticket…