תשרי 12, 5779, 9/21/2018
 Damage controlThe laws and consequences of human behavior. The paradigm for Jewish survivalThe entire story of the Jewish people descending into Egyptian slavery and then being extricated is essentially supernatural in detail. Crises in Jewish historySome crises are gradual and some sudden. Jacob lives onYaakov recognized the different personalities, qualities and talents of each of his children and grandchildren. Our brother Joseph stands before usIt is hard to change one's mind when it means changing an entire mindset. College campusesWe are back to the days when Jewish students kept a low profile. Are parents responsible for how their kids turn out?The story of the two brothers, Esau and Jacob, is a paradigm. Chayei Sarah: Mothers of IsraelThey are stalwart, loyal and above all, cognizant of the need to create a future for the Jewish people. God's seal is truthThe Talmud describes our world as being “a world of falseness.” Looking at generationsToday many of us have the chance to look at several generations of our family in our lifetimes. Self worthThe Abraham figure as a model for the future. Sukkot perspectivesThe only happiness that is lasting and meaningful is an inner happiness not caused by outside stimuli or fleeting factors. Vayelech: The lodestone of Jewish lifeMoses predicts what will happen. Haredi society in Israel is slowly changingThe slow change in values and lifestyle in that community has already begun. Awesome warningsEverything in its minutest detail did befall us. Seeing the futureThe entire concept of reward and punishment is based on a concept that it is the future that counts most in life. The broadcasterBaseball as a metaphor for life. Thinking correctly and clearlyJudaism is, in its essence, a clear and simple faith. This point is hammered home over and over again by Moses in his grand final oration to the Jewish people.History in VaetchananWe have a different story. Putin and RioThe Olympics are tainted by money, politics and moral pressure. If King Zedekiah would have listened to Jeremiah...The prophet was the realistic one. Looking for ourselves in DevarimThis is the book of perspective, of the long view of events. I don't knowThe title is probably a sentence we all should be saying and hearing more often than we do. Counting the JewsWe find it so much easier to memorialize the dead than to inspire and consecrate the living. The book of bad behavior: BamidbarMoses' fate is decided in this reading. Shoftim: Judicial ParametersIt is possible, if not even likely, to create evil, bias and unfairness by legal means. Counting the OmerSfira reflects much of what our ordinary lives experience – a mixture of emotion and occurrences. The Exodus and Jewish ExclusivityThe question of Jewish exclusivity lies at the heart of a great deal of the internal and external debates regarding Israel and the Jewish people. Jacob's LegacyTorah from the rabbi of Hanassi Synagogue in Jerusalem. Loose ChangeDesire for change can even eventually justify wickedness, slander, violence and lawlessness in the attempt to facilitate that hoped-for change. Matot: Vows and CommitmentsThe ability to speak must be accompanied by values. The Terrible Truth About Civilian Casualties in GazaThere is more than one terrible truth in this article. Korach: Inflated EgoWhat made Korach rebel? Ukraine and UsUkrainian anti-Semitism is a continuation of the legacy of Europe's persecution and hatred of the Jews, but Ukraine is a country with a prominent place in that hatred. Heeding the GA's Call for More Soul in Jewish LIfeIf ignorant and unlettered – tragically, most of American Jewry is in that position with regard to Judaism - are almost automatically precluded from an attachment to their faith. Ego, Shame, Disgrace - So What?A time to look at how public life is run. Ekev: Cause and EffectAll attempts to accommodate eternal Jewish practices and values to fit current fads and societal norms, have ended in abysmal failure. Chief Rabbinate: Career or CallingIs the Chief Rabbinate a career that affords monetary benefits and power or is it a spiritual calling to be approached with humility and trepidation. Realizing Society's ShortcomingsAren't the prophets Jeremiah and Isaiah talking about impossible demands? The problems they discuss have plagues society form time immemorial. Common Sense: Hareidi and National Religious PartiesIt was common sense for the religious Zionist and hareidi parties to joing forces. They didn't and we got Lapid's anti-Torah invective in the Knesset. TaxesParshat Truma is a good time to discuss the idea of taxes.Vayeshev: Mysteries of the ParshaQuestions abound in the story related in Vayeshev. Bo: The Start of Halakhic ObservanceIn Judaism the details are of equal if not even greater importance than the general value and end result that they represent. G-d Helps Those Who Help ThemselvesTo accomplish things in life, both spiritually and materially, effort and planning, devotion and industry must be expended. The Woes That Will Befall the Jewish PeopleAs the exile of Israel stretched into centuries and then into millennia, the Jews began to feel that somehow the punishment was rather excessive relative to the crime.Acts And AccountabilityMan cannot accomplish anything alone. But God demands that we apply our efforts and dedication to the task. And we are held accountable for those efforts and costs.<i>Ki Tavo</I>: Realism is the Torah WayPeople are justifiably proud of their accomplishments. After all, one's efforts and talents, time and struggle, are of no minor consequence in one's life. Many times, we feel that this is perhaps all we have to show for our years on earth. Therefore, there is a human tendency to view one's achievements in a somewhat exaggerated fashion, without being able to place the true accomplishment in realis<i>Ki Tetze</I>: The Enemy WithinWinston Churchill, in a speech to the House of Commons, once quoted the altered, semi-facetious aphorism, "We have met the enemy and they are us," in describing the policy shortcomings of the then-ruling government in England. In this week's Torah reading we find this idea described in detail.<i>Shoftim</I>: CompetitionThis week's Torah reading introduces the prohibition against the concept of <i>hasagat gvul</i> - unfair and immoral competition. The Hebrew words <i>hasagat gvul</i> literally mean overstepping or illegally encroaching on one's neighbor's border. Just as it is obviously wrong to move one's border fence to gobble up a piece of ground of the neighboring lot, so too is it wrong to engage in unfair c<i>Re?eh</I>: False ProphetsWe should be steadfast in avoiding being swayed by their currently, but only temporarily, politically correct, siren song. Anything that does not conform to God's natural law of nature and humans, as clearly expressed in the Torah, is a dangerous delusion and a false and destructive type of prophecy.The Basic TenetThe basic tenet of all of Jewish life, history, culture and civilization appears is: "Hear O Israel the Lord is our God, the Lord is uniquely one." Jews have lived by this credo, died with these words on their lips and in their souls and sustained themselves through all times of adversity by the knowledge and faith of God's existence and relationship to Israel, represented by the simple words of t<i>D?varim</I>: A Good EyeOne of the most essential traits for leadership of any kind and most certainly for leadership in Jewish life is cultivating a "good eye." Our rabbis, in <i>Pirkei Avot</i>, emphasize that having a "good eye" is a major goal and accomplishment in life. A "good eye" allows one to be optimistic and hopeful, even though the realities of life are often discouraging and negative.<i>Pinchas</I>: SacrificeThe rabbis of Israel have always warned their flock that there are no easy victories in life. This is certainly true in all realms of daily physical life, but it is even more appropriate and definitive in matters of the spirit and the soul. One of the cruelest hoaxes that the modern, progressive, socially-correct but spiritually-empty forms of Judaism have perpetrated on their hapless and ignorant<i>Vayikra</I>: <i>Torat Kohanim</i>The third book of the <i>Chumash</i>, <i>Vayikra</i>, is called <i>"Torat Kohanim"</i> - the law of the priests - in rabbinic literature. This is undoubtedly because most of the book is occupied with the laws of the specific sacrifices and the duties of the <i>Kohanim</i> in the Temple. However, there is another, broader and more universal aspect to the name of the book of <i>Vayikra/Torat Kohanim<i>Pekudei</I>: AccountabilityAt the conclusion of the reading of this <i>parsha</i>, the congregation rises and proclaims <i>chazak, chazak v'nischazek.</i> - "Let us be strong, let us be strong and let us strengthen others as well." Part of being strong is the realization of the necessity of being responsible for one's deeds, behavior and words. All of the great miracles and events that preceded this <i>parsha</i> in the boo<i>Vayakhel</i>: A Sense of PurposeHere in Israel, we are busily engaged in trying to form a coalition government to govern us in times of problems and distress. In democratic societies, there has to be some sort of national consensus in order to govern properly. That national consensus of the Jewish people has always been found within the staves of the Holy Ark. Removing sections of Jewry from that space only brings divisiveness, |
