In parshat Mishpatim , this week’s Torah portion, we read a whole litany of rules dealing with slavery. For a group of people who had just been liberated from bondage it is hard to imagine that there would be any sanction for this behavior. Read More »

At the end of Yitro , this week’s Torah portion, we read that we should make an altar of earth and not of stone (Exodus 20: 21-22 ). It seems to make sense that in response to our having just received the Torah we would feel the drive to respond to God’s revelation with sacrifice. Read More »

Why did we merit redemption from Egypt? It would seem that it was foretold to Abraham that they would be redeemed. But there are still a number of Midrashim that explore how the Israelites own merits redemption. Many of the reasons seem to be around their retaining particular mitzvot and symbols of Jewish identity. Read More »

The other day Yishama our 5-year-old was laying in bed with my wife and Emunah out 2-year-old. Emunah reached over and caressed his cheek. Yishama remarked to Adina : I love it when she does that. It makes my heart hurt. You know Mami, when you heart hurts because you love someone so much. When Adina told me this story my heart just melted. Read More »

Two weeks ago at this time I was at Capital Camps in Pennsylvania. I go there twice a year on a trip for the Cornerstone Fellowship. I am really excited about Cornerstone this year. Read More »

***This was sent to me by Rabbi Joel Seltzer. He is the #2 Rabbi at Temple Emanu-el in Providence, RI . More relavant to why I am sharing this piece Rabbi Seltzer was one of my counselors when I was a Rosh Edah. Read More »

Early in my own religious evolution I was swayed toward Orthodoxy by their a critique of Reform Judaism. It seemed artificial to separate ritual from moral law. In my experience keeping Shabbat itself made me a moral human being. Read More »

Recently there was another fiasco with an advertisement campaign done by Israel regarding their relationship with Diaspora Jewry. This campaign wanted to encourage Israeli parents to get their children to return from Galut- Diaspora. There were a few out there, many have been taken down. But this one is still up. Read More »

It seems funny ending Genesis ( as we do this week) so close to a time when so many people on this planet celebrating a New Year. We just got started and we are ending. Or is it just starting the next chapter? It seems that for many 2011 was less than a stellar year. So I am sure many of us are looking forward to a brand new start. Read More »

In the Mishnah Tamid ( 7: 4) we learn that the Messianic Era will be a time which is sheKulu Shabbat- completely Shabbat. What does that mean? First we need to understand some basic ideas about Shabbat and the Messiah. Read More »

I assume by this point you have seen Slumdog Millionaire . If not, this is a spoiler alert. In short it is a story of a Mumbai teen who grew up in the slums and becomes a contestant on the Indian version of “Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?” He is Read More »

It seems that in today’s day and age there is an issue around owning ideas. In an era in which everything can be copied, ripped, duplicated, and mashed up, what is the value of intellectual property (IP)? While there are clear benefits to an Read More »

One night I dreamed I was walking along a path on a pristine beach. Many scenes from my life flashed across the sky. In each scene I noticed footprints in the sand. Sometimes the path was well worn, other times it seemed that I took the path less traveled, and still yet other times I had blazed my own trail. Read More »

In this week’s Torah portion, Vayetzeh , we read about Jacob’s enduring love and commitment to marry Rachel.  there we read, “And Jacob kissed Rachel, and lifted up his voice, and wept.” ( Genesis 29: 11 ) Jacob is motivated by this love to work for seven years for Lavan. Finally, Jacob has earned her hand in marriage and Lavan pulls the switch. Read More »

In this week’s Torah portion, Toldot , we read When Esau was forty years old, he took as a wife Judith, daughter of Beeri the Hittite, and Besmat, daughter of Elon the Hitttie; and they were a source of spiritual rebellion to Isaac and to Rebecca(Genesis 26: 34-35). Read More »

A number of years ago my seminary had the fortune of hosting Dr. Ruth Wertheimer . There she stood in her four-foot-glory towering over us and our embarrassment in talking about sex. She seemed to have an answer to every question that we asked her, but one. Read More »