The Women Who Carried Us This week’s parsha introduces what is arguably the first recorded fundraising campaign in Jewish history: Moses said to the entire assembly of the Children of Israel: This is the word that G-d has commanded, saying: Take from yourselves a portion for G-d… everyone whose heart motivates him shall bring it… (Ex. […]
Purim 5785-2025 A Sister Who Wouldn’t One of the puzzling aspects of the Purim story is Esther’s decision to invite Haman—the arch-enemy of the Jews—to a banquet with King Achashverosh. Ostensibly, she did this to plead with the king to rescind the decree against the Jews, but why invite the very person responsible for their […]
When Flaws Become Features”You shall place both stones on the shoulder straps of the ephod, remembrancestones for the Children of Israel.” (Exodus 28:12)Moses was commanded to make special garments for the Kohen Gadol—the High Priest. Among these was a garment resembling an apron, called the ephod. On its shoulder straps were two precious stones engraved with the names […]
The Gift You Were Born to Give Anyone with familiarity with Jewish communities knows that capital campaigns are par for the course. The first Jewish fund-raising drive in history is when Moses asks the people to contribute to the Tabernacle, the portable synagogue accompanying the Jews throughout the desert and even when they first entered […]
Consider the Possibility that You Are a ThiefAnd these are the ordinances that you will place before them. (ibid. 21:1)A sizeable quantity of this week’s Torah portion deals with the laws of theft and damage. What significance is there in giving these laws immediately after the Ten Commandments and revelation at Sinai (last week’s Torah portion)? Here’s […]
Email and Mt. Sinai An article in the Wall Street Journal mentions a new way for companies to reach their customers: email. Yes, the medium that many deem as archaic and, on its way out, is actually making a comeback for certain purposes. In fact, recent studies have shown that money spent on email marketing is more effective […]
If Only I Saw a Miracle (Then I Would Change) This week’s parsha introduces us to the concept of manna, the heavenly bread that nourished the Israelites in the wilderness. We refer to manna as a concept because it is more than just food—it is an ideology. Many struggle with the idea that millions of people were fed […]
Before inflicting the final plague, death of the firstborn, Moses warned Pharaoh that “your servants, will come down to me and prostrate themselves” and beg the Israelites to leave Egypt. (Exodus 11:8). Why didn’t Moses say that Pharoah would also come and plead for the Jews to leave; why only his servants? (Especially considering that after the plague, Pharaoh himself […]
Starbucks and Pharaoh Imagine if you were miraculously given superhuman power and had the ability to confront an evil monarch, someone who has persecuted, oppressed and murdered tens of thousands of people. How would you approach him? Would you address him in a respectful way or would speak in an insulting and degrading fashion? Whether […]
The Hostage Deal and Moses’ Patience The announcement of the hostage deal brings with it a whole host of emotions. We are, of course, overjoyed that the hostages will be coming home, yet anxious about the prospect that many terrorists are being released and that the situation in Gaza is fluid. Frustrated that Israel […]
Discovering Your Inner Youth It is the end of an era. Jacob has finally been reunited with his beloved Joseph and he lives the final seventeen years of his life in peace, surrounded by children and grandchildren. Joseph had two sons in Egypt and now Jacob, soon to die, talks to Joseph about them. Now, […]
Ad Vingerhoets is a professor of psychology at Tilburg University in the Netherlands. The thing that makes him unique is that he is an expert on crying and has spent over twenty years “studying when and why we cry, and how the study of crying may help us obtain better insight into human nature.” According […]
The Jewish Fighter Joseph was asked to interpret Pharaoh’s dreams but, instead, offered him advice. So now, let Pharaoh seek out an understanding and wise man and appoint him over the land of Egypt. (41:33) This is strange; Joseph was asked to interpret Pharaoh’s dream but no one for his opinion about what to do about […]
How Do You Wrap Your Chanukah Gifts? Here’s a rarely discussed Chanukah topic: How should one give a Chanukah present? Sometimes it’s sufficient to simply ship it with an attached note but usually we have to wrap it and hand deliver it. A research team set out to find out what impact wrapping has on a recipient’s appreciation […]
Becoming a Five Percenter“Five percent of the people think; ten percent of the people think they think; and the other eighty-five percent would rather die than think.” – Thomas A. EdisonThinking must be a very hard thing if such a small percentage of people engage in it.Jacob vowed (Genesis 28:22) that he would build G-d’s house […]
You May Be A Hero But Don’t Realize It Around the same time that Jacob was fleeing from his brother (who sought to kill him), he was also looking for a wife. Suddenly he had a vision. He saw a stairway resting on the earth, with its top reaching to heaven, and angels of G-d were […]
In the Hike up Life’s Mountain, Don’t Wear Stilettos Finally, after much hardship, Isaac and Rebecca were expecting a child. Just as Isaac had been transmitting Abraham’s teachings, ideas so profound that they would eventually lead to the creation of the Jewish people. The expectation was that Isaac and Rebecca’s child would be the next […]
[This week was Yahrzeit of Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, former Chief Rabbi of England. The Dvar Torah below is based on an article he wrote in 2011] A Jewish Hero: Dignified and Satisfied Who is the central character of the story of Judaism? In both of the other Abrahamic monotheisms (Christianity or Islam), the answer is […]
Outlast Your PastImagine a high school Physics student winning a national competition enabling him to work alongside Anton Zeilinger, the 2022 winner of the Nobel Prize in physics. Zeilinger tells him that he wants to slow down the electric current in a circuit but then instructs him to increase the voltage in the circuit. This student knows […]
Teachers not PreachersAbraham is instructed to leave the comfort of his hometown and go to a place which has not been revealed to him.So, Abram went as G-d had spoken to him and Lot went with him; Abram was 75 years old when he left Haran. Abram took his wife Sarai and Lot, his brother’s […]
What Does Your Ark Look Like? These are the offspring of Noah; Noah as a righteous man, perfect in his generation…(Gen. 6:9) Was Noah truly a great man OR was he great only in his generation but if he had lived in the generation of Abraham, he would not have been considered anything of significance? According to […]
The Yom Kippur Mah-Nishtanah On Passover we ask the Four Questions but every year as Yom Kippur rolls around many people ask, ma nishtanah ha shanah hazeh—How will this year be different from all others. In the synagogue, will I constantly be looking at my watch, feeling bored, hungry, and waiting for it to end? If […]
) Believing in Your Future In the past, Jewish farmers would bring their harvest’s first fruits to Jerusalem. They would travel together with other farmers led by oxen whose horns had been coated in gold adorned with olive branches placed on their heads, and flutes musically accompanied the procession; they would travel for only […]
Restoring Dignity Begins with Looking for Lost ‘Objects’ Did you ever notice a watch on a hiking trail or see a jacket on a chair at the theater? Did you keep on walking and ignore it? The Torah addressed these scenarios in a direct way by instructing us to pay attention and stop what we’re […]
A chassid was plagued by constant negative thoughts and couldn’t concentrate due to temptation, fantasy, worry, and anxiety. One night he was so desperate that he went to his Rebbe’s house hoping the Rebbe would impart some wisdom for how to rid himself of these destructive thoughts. He knocked on the front door, but nobody answered. He […]
)A Message from Jewish Mob MomsWe all know the benefit of distancing ourselves from bad influences, especially those who seek to detach us from our Jewish identity. Here are two examples of people who intend to lead Jews astray. The first is of the false prophet.If there should stand a prophet or dreamer who will […]
Our Mezuzah Has Seen It All Having a Mezuzah on a doorpost is an ancient Jewish practice whose source is found in the Torah. And you shall write them on the doorposts of your homes and your gates. (Deut. 11:20) It stands like a watchman every time we pass it when going in or out of […]
An Unusual and Revolting Way to Overcome Fear Imagine a religion whose worship is to go to the bathroom in public in front of an idol? Do you think Jews would be attracted to it? Surprisingly, they were. Your eyes have seen what G-d did at Baal Peor…(Deuteronomy 4:2-3) What was Baal Peor? The Talmud relates two […]
Imagine a huge kiddush in the synagogue after services. There’s everything from Kosher Sushi to kugel, from Cholent to chopped liver. There’s pushing and shoving, especially from the younger crowd, to get to the tables loaded with food. However, when it comes time to attending services in shul, the younger crowd has no problem giving the front […]
Delta Force and You The following incident about the unique training required by the Army’s most elite special forces unit was recorded by Eric Haney in his book Inside Delta Force. I had covered just slightly over thirty miles by now, but still had more than twenty to go. It was getting more and more difficult […]