When penicillin was first discovered, only small amounts were available. At that time, the following issue was addressed in halacha (Jewish law): What should a doctor do if he has only a single dose of penicillin and a number of patients who need it? How should he decide to which patient it should be administered? […]
This week’s Torah portion contains rebuke and dreadful consequences for the Jewish community if we allow Jews to abandon their Judaism. After stating the terrible events that will occur, the rebuke closes by mentioning that the ultimate catalyst for these bad things is “as the result of your not having served HaShem, your G-d, with […]
When you will go out to war against your enemies… (Deut. 21:10) This week’s portion begins with various laws concerning warfare. However, our sages tell us that the opening verse hints at another type of war; the war we have with our internal selves. In Judaism it’s called the Yetzer Hara (the evil inclination), the […]
This week’s Torah portion begins with a directive for judges to be scrupulous in upholding the law. The Torah expresses this mandate in a peculiar way. Justice, justice you shall pursue so that you will live and take possession of the land that G-d… gives you (ibid.16:20) The discerning reader will be bothered by the […]
The Torah states that because Jews are children of G-d (Deuteronomy 14, 1), we are forbidden to excessively mourn the loss of a parent by doing such things as cutting one’s self or tearing out the hair on one’s head and making a bald spot. The commentary of Chizkuni (13th century) explains that when a […]
