Is There Hope?
I want to offer a broad, and perhaps grim, view of the world. The world is sick. Humanity is dying out. And we are doing it not because of external forces, but entirely driven by tendencies that, in the big picture, can only be described as broadly suicidal. Individuals, communities, entire nations, and Western Civilization…
The Rosh Hashanah Journey
I wanted to explore a way of thinking about Rosh Hashanah that occurred to me. I think Rosh Hashanah is the start of a journey – but not a conventional one. We had a conventional journey 6 months ago, with Pesach. On Pesach, the people had to physically get up and go. It was kind…
Journeys and Offerings
One of the areas of the Torah that often gets overlooked are the different meanings between the offerings. We tend to jumble them all together, even though the text has different names for the offerings, and does not use them interchangeably. For example, Noach is the first to offer an Oloh, an elevation offering (also…
Being Mindful
The first person who voluntarily connects with G-d is Cain, when he offers from the fruits of the earth, the pri-ha’adamah. It seems like a good and decent thing to do. But it falls short: Cain’s offering was famously not accepted by G-d, and Cain’s response is to commit the first murder. Perhaps the rejection…
Clothing For The Sake of Dignity
The Torah has different words for clothing, each having a distinct meaning. For example, in the Torah, beged always refers to aspirational garments, while simla consistently refers to functional clothing. There is another word that refers to maintaining the dignity and reputation of a person, of always being sure to them as if they are…
Can Directions Be Symbolic?
Some time ago, I wrote that when Jacob spoke of Rachel dying “on the way to Efrat,” he was speaking of her being on the path to fruitfulness (since Efrat contains “fruit” within the word). Which is why Jacob promoted Ephraim and Menasseh (grandsons of Rachel) to the status of his own sons. Rachel thus…
Solving Israel’s Draft Problem
Israel was founded by European Jewish Intellectuals who – with only some exceptions – deeply believed in the power of the intellect to properly order every element of society. In other words, they admired communism. Hence Israel’s national union, kibbutzim and moshavim, state-owned enterprises, and universal conscription to the armed forces. Israel has retained much…
Keeping Things In Their Proper Place
Over a decade ago, a lovely old lady who lived down the block from us complimented my #1 son on his hat, explaining that, “a man isn’t fully dressed without a hat; it brings together his entire appearance.” In this case, that briefest of comment landed on target, forever changing my son’s life. Because to…
How Do You Choose to Build?
Any person with an ounce of self-reflection takes stock from time to time. Am I a good person? Am I doing the right things? And as we age and become increasingly aware of our mortality, we ask “bigger picture” questions: What have I achieved? Do I leave any kind of legacy? Have I made the…
Judaism’s Eternal Enemy
The text seems to not only tells us how to be Jewish, but also defines what Judaism is not. We erect a key barrier between ourselves and certain behaviors, and we do it with circumcision, mul. This word is used in the text to teach us the foundational exclusions for Jewish behavior: male circumcision (G.…
Something went wrong. Please refresh the page and/or try again.
Follow My Blog
Get new content delivered directly to your inbox.