Ki Tissa: The Calm During The Storm

Which are the best ways to calm a very angry person who threatens to do something rash?  This week’s Torah portion, Ki Tissa (Exodus 30:11-34:35), provides practical advice through example.  When the Israelites built a golden calf and wor... Continue Reading »
Mar 17
Posted in: Torah Commentary, Ethics

Hukkat: What Have You Done for Me Lately?

What happened yesterday about which you still feel grateful today?   How about the day-before-yesterday?  Last week? Last month? Last year?  It’s hard, and maybe impossible, to feel grateful for benefits received that we no longer re... Continue Reading »
Jul 15
Posted in: Torah Commentary, Focus on Prayers, Jewish Rituals, Ethics

Shelach-Lecha: When to Be Underhanded

When the spies Moses sent to Canaan returned with their report, ten of the twelve advised the Israelites not to even try to advance against the Anakites.  “We looked like grasshoppers to ourselves, and so we must have looked to them.”  (Num... Continue Reading »
Jul 01
Posted in: Torah Commentary, Ethics

Be-Ha'alotekha: Is that really what you're mad about?

Sibling jealousy is common in the Hebrew Bible.  Cain and Abel.  Jacob and Esau.  And, most famously, Joseph and his brothers.  Seldom mentioned, though, is that between Moses and his siblings, Aaron and Miriam.  Yet, arguabl... Continue Reading »
Jun 24
Posted in: Torah Commentary, Ethics

Naso: Guilty? Take the “Fifth” and Confess.

Many Jews consider confession to be a once-a-year religious obligation. On the “Day of Atonement,” they confess their sins to G-d, privately and/or by joining in the communal “Ashamru” (“We have sinned”) liturgy. Such an understanding of the role of... Continue Reading »
Jun 17
Posted in: Torah Commentary, Jewish Rituals, Ethics

Be-Hukkotai: There's No Substitute for Rationalization

"If [a vow concerns] any animal that may be brought as an offering to the lord, any such that may be given to the lord shall be holy. one may not exchange or substitute another for it, either good for bad, or bad for good; if one does substitute one ... Continue Reading »
Jun 03
Posted in: Torah Commentary, Ethics

Behar: Don't live in the "Shark Tank"

Who said, “Neither a borrower nor a lender be”?   Although Ben Franklin is often credited, it was actually Shakespeare, who put these words into the mouth of his character Lord Polonius (Hamlet Act I, Scene III).   How ironic, the... Continue Reading »
May 27
Posted in: Torah Commentary, Jewish Rituals, Ethics

Emor: Profane Sanctimony in the Synagogue?

“You shall not profane My holy name, that I may be sanctified in the midst of the Israelite people, I the Lord, who sanctify you.”  -- Leviticus 22-32.  “You shall not profane My holy name” is highly reminiscent of the third of the “Ten Co... Continue Reading »
May 20
Posted in: Torah Commentary, Ethics

Aharei Mot: Offering our Offspring to Molech

“Do not allow any of your offspring to be offered up to Molech.”  Leviticus 18:21 The many biblical references to child sacrifice to "gods" indicate that this was once a common practice.  Perhaps it still occurs in some cultures, but, than... Continue Reading »
May 06
Posted in: Torah Commentary, Ethics

Pesach's Socialist Message

“From each according to his ability, to each according to his need.”  What might this phrase, a slogan usually associated with Karl Marx, albeit with much older antecedents[1], have to due to Pesach? Socialism/communism’s fundamental goal was t... Continue Reading »
Apr 29
Posted in: Torah Commentary, Jewish Holidays , Ethics
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He who guards his mouth preserves his life
Proverbs 13:3