Parshat Emor תשפב In this week’s portion, Emor, the Torah (Leviticus 23:10) instructs us to bring the Omer barley sacrifice: (י) דַּבֵּר אֶל בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל וְאָמַרְתָּ אֲלֵהֶם כִּי תָבֹאוּ אֶל הָאָרֶץ אֲשֶׁר אֲנִי נֹתֵן לָכֶם וּקְצַרְתֶּם אֶת קְצִירָהּ וַהֲבֵאתֶם…
Fertilizer. It’s the stinkiest, dirtiest pile of blessing you can get your hands on. Laying fresh fertilizer on your field may not leave you looking like Mr. Clean, but it will make your crops look like they were taking whatever…
Kedoshim תשפב The third verse in this week’s portion Kedoshim (Leviticus 19:3) tells us: (ג) אִישׁ אִמּוֹ וְאָבִיו תִּירָאוּ וְאֶת שַׁבְּתֹתַי תִּשְׁמֹרוּ אֲנִי יְדֹוָד אֱלֹקֵיכֶם 3) Every man, your mother and father, you shall fear, and my Shabbats, you shall…
Natural resources are a hot topic right now, as the earth continues to fill with more people but not more resources. In the era of technological leaps and blindingly fast innovation, humans also seek more resources than ever before. In…
Acharei Mot תשפב Last week we celebrated the Festival of Passover, commemorating the Jewish nation’s exodus from 210 years of Egyptian slavery. In this week’s portion, Acharei Mot, the Torah instructs us (Leviticus 18:3): (ג) כְּמַעֲשֵׂה אֶרֶץ מִצְרַיִם אֲשֶׁר יְשַׁבְתֶּם בָּהּ לֹא…
Inflation. The Merriam-Webster definition of inflation is ““a continuing rise in the general price level usually attributed to an increase in the volume of money and credit, relative to available goods and services.” In human speak, inflation is when everything…
Shabbat eve, the 15th day of the month of Adar (March 18, 2022), Rabbi Chayim Kanievsky זצ"ל, the world’s holiest Torah sage, returned his soul to his Maker. The loss of this Torah giant constitutes a massive, immeasurable blow to…
Shabbat eve, the 15th day of the month of Adar (March 18, 2022), Rabbi Chayim Kanievsky זצ"ל, the world’s holiest Torah sage, returned his soul to his Maker. The loss of this Torah giant constitutes a massive, immeasurable blow to…
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…
Shemini תשפב Despite its many “stories,” the Torah is not a story book; their inclusion comes to teach us many important lessons. Often, the lesson is obvious, while sometimes it is deep beneath the surface. One of the most difficult…