Don’t Let Clay Feet Stop You If you followed Michael Cohen’s testimony last week or saw the movie “Vice”, it’s easy to fall into cynicism. Trust in our government officials Continue Reading »
Contradictions When I was Orthodox, contradictions in the Torah used to perturb me. If God really dictated the Torah to Moses, couldn’t the text be a bit clearer? If the Continue Reading »
How Do We Sustain Our Jewish Identity? As we approach Purim, the story of Esther gnaws at me and disturbs my peace of mind. When I was in Yeshivah, I Continue Reading »
Is This God’s Will? At the foot of Mount Sinai, the Jewish People, only recently freed from slavery, meet their Creator, face to face. The mountain is engulfed in flames and Continue Reading »
Arguably One of the Worst Ideas in Human History The Ten Commandments brings to mind many disparate things: Charlton Heston, Mel Brooks, tablets over an Ark, and the founding laws Continue Reading »
Sweet Harmony I love attending concerts, and my favorite part of a concert is when all the attendees start singing together. When a hundred, a thousand or fifty thousand people Continue Reading »
Have Doubts About God? Our Parsha begins with Moses in a state of high anxiety and crisis of faith. Since his audience with Pharaoh, the situation of the Jewish slaves Continue Reading »
Making Our Blessings Count On Shabbat evening, after the graceful candles are lit and the family is gathered around the table, it’s customary for parents to bless their children. This Continue Reading »
Drive a Mercedes Benz? My Jewish summer camp experiences always coincided with Tisha B’Av, the saddest day in the Jewish calendar. While recounting the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem Continue Reading »
Repeating Our Parents’ Behavior Sometimes, we repeat our parents’ behaviors without even realizing it. In our parsha, sons repeat their father’s behavior when Judah and his brethren are informed that Continue Reading »