Deliberate Self-Harm You are children of the Almighty, your G-d. You shall neither cut yourselves nor make any baldness between your eyes for the dead. For you are a holy people to the Almighty, your G-d. (Deut. 14:1, 2) There is a Torah prohibition against cutting oneself or tearing out one’s hair when grieving over the […]
Doing Ritual Without Being Habitual This Parsha is a long speech given by Moses reiterating the basic deal the Almighty offers us: if we observe the mitzvot—even the “small” mitzvot—He will keep the promises made to our ancestors. A public speaking evaluator might analyze it in one of two ways: Moses’ speech was meticulously prepared with conscious […]
Have You Ever Met a Person Who Wants to be an Eagle? The last of the Ten Commandments is an order not covet. Desiring someone or something is a thought; can one be commanded not to want something? You can tell me not to steal, kill, or not do an action, but how can one be […]
Rabbi Berel Wein tells a story from his youth when he was a student in Chicago’s Hebrew Theological College, the Skokie Yeshiva. In 1945, the Cubs made it to the World Series against the Tigers. Rabbi Wein’s friend, who was 13 or 14 at the time, stood in line all night to buy tickets to […]
Finding Meaning in the Journey Why does the Torah contain a detailed travelog of the journeys of the Jews in the desert? Beginning with the exodus from Egypt, it lists the name of each destination along the way as well as some recollections. Being as the Land of Israel was their ultimate and final destination, […]
What quality must an authentic Jewish leader possess?When the people saw that Moses was late in coming down from the mountain, the people gathered against Aaron, and they said to him: “Come on! Make us a god that will go before us, because this man Moses, who brought us up from the land of Egypt […]
Leon Fleisher was one of the 20th century’s greatest pianists. At the peak of his career, he developed a rare hand condition due to his 7-8 hours of practice each day and was no longer able to play with his right hand. “I was desolate, my life fell apart, and this mysterious debilitating condition destroyed my […]
Korach felt slighted that Moses didn’t select him for a prominent communal position and found 250 leaders to join him in a rebellion. And they rose up before Moses with two hundred and fifty men, princes of the congregation. (ibid. 16:2)One of the conspirators was Ohn ben Peles. The Midrash says that his wife convinced him to separate […]
Can You Pray for Someone Else to Make Good Life Choices?G-d promised the people that they would have their own land flowing with milk and honey but the people were afraid and asked Moses to send a reconnaissance mission with the following goals:See what the land is and the people living on it; are they […]
“Leaders are made, they are not born. They are made by hard effort, which is the price which all of us must pay to achieve any goal that is worthwhile.” Vince LombardiHow does one become a leader? Let’s take a look at one of Judaism’s best; Moses. In addition to his many accomplishments, he had a […]
Getting Up When Life Knocks You Down The Mishkan (Tabernacle) was the portable place of worship for the Jews in the wilderness and the precursor to Solomon’s Temple, which was built hundreds of years later in Jerusalem. After its completion, there was a seven-day ceremony; at the end of each day, Moses dismantled the Mishkan and then reassembled it […]
You Count! When the cycle for the weekly Torah readings was established centuries ago, this week’s Parsha was designated specifically to precede the holiday of Shavuot, the festival commemorating the giving of the Torah. What is the connection between the two? It begins with G-d’s charge to Moses to conduct a census of the Jewish people. The […]
Dry Bread in Peace vs. Abundance in Pieces A blessing was bestowed on the Jewish people when they entered the Land of Israel. After mentioning how eaue to the generosity of the Land and how the people would eat in satiety, it concludes: And I will place peace in the land… (Leviticus 26:6) Four verses later there’s another […]
The Thoughtful Observer A Jew who is Shomer Shabbos (Sabbath observant), adheres to the kosher laws, and keeps other mitzvot in the Torah is referred to as an observant Jew. I’m not sure where exactly the term “observant” came from with reference to Jews, but a verse in this week’s Torah portion suggests an answer. You shall observe […]
Lesson 1 for a Jewish Convert The Talmud (Shabbat 31a) mentions an incident involving a gentile who came before the sage Hillel and said, Convert me to Judaism on the condition that you will teach me the entire Torah while I stand on one foot. Hillel told him: “That which is hateful to you, do not […]
CHIRP Why is so much of Diaspora Jewry ambivalent toward Israel? A peculiar phenomenon mentioned in this week’s Parsha sheds light. A unique spiritual illness having physical manifestations similar to leprosy existed in Biblical times; it resulted from speaking senseless gossip or derogatory speech. Part of the purification process was to bring two birds. Although […]
Sometimes Silence is the Answer This past year I had the opportunity to be part of a group who visited Auschwitz. That evening, we stayed in a hotel across the street from one of the oldest and most renowned synagogues in Poland, the Rema’s shul in Cracow. Over 40 years earlier, in 1979, Professor Yaffa Eliach […]
Roberto Clemente’s Lesson in Job Clarity Roberto Clemente, one of baseball’s most iconic figures, was playing outfield late into the 1968 season against the Houston Astros. The Pirates were no longer contenders, which meant that that game had no statistical meaning. A ball was hit deep into the outfield. As Clemente raced back, it seemed […]
Rabbi O’s Weekly Parsha: Vayikra (Leviticus 1-5) (Being as we are less than two weeks away from Passover, a short idea about one of Passover’s core messages will be presented at the end of this dvar Torah.) Set a Margin so Life doesn’t Just Barge In Margin/märjən/the edge or border of something. Although margins are important for […]
Clever and Practical WomanJewish Women: Logical and Levelheaded Here’s the first Jewish fundraising initiative in history.Moses said to the entire assembly of the Children of Israel saying: This is the word that G-d commanded saying: Take from yourselves a portion for G-d…everyone who is generous of heart shall bring it… (Ex. 35:4-5)When they started bringing contributions, a seemingly […]
The Power of Experience After being liberated from Egypt and participating the Sinai experience, the Jews build a Golden Calf. Volumes have been written on this subject but we will discuss one seemingly small part of the story.Now it came to pass when he (Moses) drew closer to the camp and saw the calf and the dancing, that […]
Diamond in the RoughYou shall place both stones on the shoulder straps of the ephod, remembrance stones for the Children of Israel. (Exodus 28:12)Moses was commanded to make garments for the Cohen Gadol—‘high priest.’ Included in these was a piece of clothing similar to an apron called the ephod. It had two shoulder straps and held precious gems […]
Imagine hearing about a woman who works tirelessly to make sure every child in her city has access to milk for breakfast. You learn that she personally brings fresh milk to countless families every day, even in the nastiest weather. What would you think about her? We might count her among the righteous people in […]
Close the Toothpaste! Imagine a couple standing under the chuppah googly-eyed and in love. The rabbi speaks about the beauty of marriage and the significance of the day. Then, all a sudden, the bride starts listing her set of rules for the marriage. “Make sure to close the toothpaste, keep the toilet seat down, take out the […]
Ultimate Unity They journeyed from Rephidim and arrived at the Wilderness of Sinai and encamped in the Wilderness; and Israel encamped there, opposite the mountain. (Exodus 19:2) The old adage, two Jews- three opinions, is more than a clever observation regarding our tendency to disagree with one another, it’s also a subtle description of the difficulty […]
Interested in Reaching Your Potential? Take Responsibility Although the splitting of the Sea is one of the most significant events in Jewish history, few talk about the events immediately preceding it. The tribes were arguing about who should leap first into the Sea, each attempting to avoid taking the first step. Finally, Nachshon from te of […]
On the tenth of this month, they shall take for themselves, each person, a lamb for each household, a lamb for the household. (Exodus 12:3)The tenth of this month refers to the day the Jews would designate of a lamb as the Passover offering, but the actual offering happened four days later. Why couldn’t they simply have […]
We all know the story; plagues came to Egypt because Pharaoh did not listen. Before the destruction brought about by the plague of Hail, the Egyptians were given the opportunity to save their animals.Whoever among the servants of Pharaoh FEARED the word of G-d chased his servants and livestock in the houses. And whoever DID NOT PAY […]
Trust or Narcissism? After being told by G-d to return to Egypt and command Pharaoh to release the Jews, Moses says: ‘Please G-d, I am not a man of words, also not since the day before yesterday, nor since You first spoke to Your servant; for I am heavy of mouth and heavy of speech.’ (4:10) […]
The Talmud (Sotah 13a) relates a unpleasant circumstance that occurred when Jacob’s sons went to bury him. The entrance of the burial cave was blocked by their uncle (Esau), their father’s nemesis, who claimed the land belonged to him and wouldn’t allow Jacob to be buried there. Jacob’s sons got into a heated debate about the […]