Listen to an audio version Toward the end of last weeks Torah portion Mishpatim, Moses, Aaron and his two sons Nadab and Abihu, as well as the seventy elders of Israel prepared to ascend Mount Sinai where Moses was to…
Tag: Torah
Yitro – An Aristocracy of Humility
Listen to an audio version With the arrival at Sinai, Israel begins to forge in earnest its national identity. It is only in covenantal relationship with the God of their forefathers, the God to whom the entire world belongs that…
Beshalach – Buyer’s Remorse
Listen to an audio version Here in Connecticut all contracts require a three-day “cooling off” period, a time when all involved parties can examine their contractual obligations and determine whether or not they can honor them. This allows the parties…
Lech Lecha – It’s About the People
In April 2003, on the eve of the Second Gulf War, I attended a forum of four Nobel Peace laureates. Though the United States invasion the next day proved to be misguided, the words of Elie Wiesel that evening stood…
Vayelech – Re-Righting Our Stories
“I am now one hundred and twenty years old, I can no longer be active.” (Devarim 31:1) With that surprising realization, Moses begins his final address to the children of Israel. When Moses completes this address, he will have accomplished…
Eikev – What Are You Willing to Live for?
The Philosopher Socrates declared, “The unexamined life is not worth living.” Sigmund Freud said the same in his own proprietary language, “Where id is, let ego be.” Most people only go through the motions daily, living out a pale imitation of…
Cleaning Our Homes and Hearts
This Shabbat is Shabbat HaGadol or the Sabbath of “the Great One”. The Great One is Elijah the prophet, the one who according to tradition will herald the coming of the Messiah. So on this last Shabbat prior to Pesach…
Bo – Passover Lambs and Hesed Community
Listen to an audio version Every year the gift-giving season comes earlier and earlier, to the point that some desperate merchandisers try to lure us into their stores with X-mas in August promotional ads. But as we read Parashat Bo…
B’reishit – Denying the Naked Ape
Listen to an audio version In 2002 PETA initiated its “Holocaust on a Plate”, an advertising campaign intended to draw attention to the plight of animals raised in factory farms for the purpose of satisfying America and Europe’s insatiable appetite…
Vayeshev – Servants of The Holy Blessing One
Listen to an audio version So often it would seem that the focus within American Judaism is on impressive edifices, building funds, synagogue attendance and business protocols – and why not? These values merely mirror those of our everyday lives.…