"Lech Lecha" vs. "Lech Mi-po"

Note: While some here in Israel are able to focus on "apolitical" topics for their Torah commentaries despite the spate of stabbings and shootings, I find that I cannot.  Perhaps when I return to America soon, I will also return to less emotiona... Continue Reading »
Oct 23
Posted in: Torah Commentary, Israel

Noah: Israel's Leaky Ark

Here in Sderot, where many residents either are, or are descended from, immigrants forced to flee from elsewhere, my Shabbat lunch host told me, “Tell American Jews to move to Israel now, with their money – before they must leave without ... Continue Reading »
Oct 16
Posted in: Torah Commentary, Israel

Bereshit: Nu? Ain’t hubris "a-shame"?

Adam and Eve were naked in the Garden of Eden, but had no consciousness of this and thus felt no shame -- until they knowingly violated G-d’s command not to eat from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil.Their “eyes were opened” an... Continue Reading »
Oct 09
Posted in: Torah Commentary, Focus on Prayers

Ki Tavo: Remember That We, Too, Were Refugees.

“My father was a wandering Aramean” is a declaration familiar to us from the Passover seder.   Taken from this week’s Torah portion, Ki Tavo, it begins a formulaic “brief history of the Jewish people” narrative that Israelites were obliged to re... Continue Reading »
Sep 04
Posted in: Torah Commentary

Ki Tetze: Confessions of an Unrepentant Sinner

The “Ten Days of Repentance” ("High Holy Days") are rapidly approaching, but I already know that they offer me less than complete repentance for my sins.I know this because I am, and will remain for the rest of my life, an unrepentant sinner. I know ... Continue Reading »
Aug 28
Posted in: Torah Commentary, Jewish Holidays , Jewish Rituals

Ve'etchanan: "Handling" the Truth

Ve'etchanan: "Handling" the Truth
“Opium of the Masses” [das Opium des Volkes] is how Karl Marx famously (or infamously, depending upon one’s perspective) referred to religion, although the phrase did not originate with him.     His philosophy... Continue Reading »
Jul 31
Posted in: Torah Commentary, Focus on Prayers, Jewish Holidays

Tisha B'Av Observance? Learn and Decide!

Tisha B'Av Observance? Learn and Decide!
Tisha B’Av (Ninth Day of the Month of Av) – the culmination of the "three weeks" and the saddest day of the Jewish year -- commemorates numerous tragedies in Jewish history.  It occurs this year on July 25th.... Continue Reading »
Jul 23
Posted in: Jewish Holidays , Jewish History, Jewish Rituals

Matot-Masei: City of Refuge By the Bay

Matot-Masei: City of Refuge By the Bay
How do Torah’s “Cities of Refuge” provisions compare with San Francisco’s “Sanctuary City” law? In this week’s Torah portion, Matot-Massei, the Israelites are commanded to designate six cities of refuge to... Continue Reading »
Jul 17
Posted in: Torah Commentary

Sh'lah-L'kha: Avoiding "The Jewish Disease"

Sh'lah-L'kha: Avoiding "The Jewish Disease"
“The Jewish Disease” label has been applied to a variety of aliments at various times in our history.  To name just a few, Tay-Sachs and Crohn's (by geneticists), diabetes (by physicians), mental illness (by psychologists), and s... Continue Reading »
Jun 12
Posted in: Torah Commentary, Jewish Rituals

B’haalotkha: "One Law for All" Doesn't and Shouldn't Mean That.

B’haalotkha: "One Law for All" Doesn't and Shouldn't Mean That.
Whenever I read in the Torah, as we do this week, “There shall be one law for you, whether stranger or citizen of the country,” (Numbers 9:14), I think of the U.S. Constitution.  The Fourteenth Amendment declares: “nor shall an... Continue Reading »
Jun 05
Posted in: Torah Commentary, Israel
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He who guards his mouth preserves his life
Proverbs 13:3