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 […]

The Power of Experience After being liberated from Egypt and participating the Sinai experience, the Jews build a Golden Calf. Now it came to pass when he (Moses) drew closer to the camp and saw the calf and the dancing, that Moses became angry, and he threw down the tablets… (Ex. 32:19) Moses had spent 40 days and […]

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 […]

A Great Winter Experience for Wealthy People After being liberated from Egypt and witnessing 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 […]

 Smiles are a way of gaining people’s trust. When we meet someone and they have a smile on their face, we are much more likely to trust them than if they have a stern face or some other appearance. The obvious question is, we all know that it is easy to fake a smile; how […]

We encounter one of the seminal events in the history of the Jewish people in this week’s Parsha. After being liberated from the Egyptian bondage and being present for 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 […]

When viewing a relationship, what indication might an onlooker use to determine if it is robust, vibrant, and has sustainability? Traits such as being a good listener, empathetic, and caring are desirable, perhaps crucial, but even they might not be enough; something else is necessary and this week’s Torah portion tells us what it is-but […]

There is a little know prohibition and although there is a dispute about its origin, all sources from the time of the Talmud onward agree that it is forbidden to count Jews. Some find the source in the beginning of this week’s Torah portion when Moses is instructed to collect a half shekel coin from […]

The sin of the Golden Calf is one of the great enigmas of the Torah. The age old question—how could the same people who witnessed the Ten Plagues, the Splitting of the Sea, and national revelation at Sinai recklessly ignore G-d and pray to an idol—has many answers and there is one theme common to […]