Jewish Thought
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SEEING GENERATIONS
4/29/2013 12:32 PM
My two month old great grandson came to visit me on Saturday night last. He naturally brought his parents along for the visit but he was the honored guest, the center of all generational attention. He will not remember the visit, for memory kicks in later than does birth and unfortunately in many instances kicks out early before death. Nevertheless for great grandparents a visit from a member of...
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EMOR
4/22/2013 02:27 PM
The review of the yearly holidays of Israel appears in this week’s parsha. This type of review also appears in a number of different places in the holy Torah. The reasons advanced by the commentators for this seemingly unnecessary repetition are many, varied and insightful. But there is one that truly resonates with me and I think it has great relevance to our times and circumstances. And...
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THE AMBIVALENT COUNT
4/7/2013 06:02 AM
We are currently in the season of the counting of the days of the Omer that will lead us to the grand holiday of Shavuot. In the tradition of rabbinic commentary regarding this process of counting the days between Pesach and Shavuot, the emphasis has always been on the countdown towards Shavuot – towards the revelation at Sinai and the granting of the Torah to Israel. Tradition forced us...
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THE TORAH IS FOR ALL
3/4/2013 02:11 PM
There are numerous instances in the Talmud when the rabbis state that if a certain behavior is permissible to some Jews then why is it not permissible to all? The Talmud and the Torah itself recognizes exceptional circumstances, unusual pressures, and differing opinions that need be taken into account, but the Talmud never advocates differing standards of halachic behavior. It does recognize...
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בין שני אחים
2/25/2013 01:24 PM
במסעי האחרון לארצות הברית, נאלצנו אשתי ואני כמה וכמה פעמים להיעזר בשירות הסעות פרטי. אשתי, בהיותה אדם הרבה יותר ידידותי ובהחלט הרבה יותר חברותי ממני, הצליחה בכל פעם לשמוע את סיפור החיים המלא של הנהגים שהסיעו אותנו ליעד...
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A TALE OF TWO BROTHERS
2/25/2013 01:23 PM
On my recent trip to the United States my wife and I had, on a number of occasions, to use the services of a private car service. My wife, being a much friendlier and decidedly more social person than I am, was successful every time in eliciting the full life story of each of the drivers who drove us to our requested destination. All of the drivers were courteous, respectful and skilled at their...
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CREDIT CARDS
2/10/2013 06:15 AM
One of the more fiendish banking creations of our modern society is that of the credit card. This simple piece of plastic is the greatest source of personal convenience and freedom of opportunity. It is also the source of angst, bankruptcy and even greater forms of tragedy to families and individuals. For credit cards like everything else in human existence come at a cost. Some of it is immediate...
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כרטיסי אשראי
2/10/2013 05:15 AM
אחת ההמצאות הבנקאיות השטניות יותר של החברה המודרנית היא כרטיס האשראי. אותו כרטיס פלסטיק פשוט מאפשר חיים נוחים וניצול הזדמנויות, אך הוא גם מקור לחרדה, ולעתים לפשיטת רגל ואפילו לאסונות גדולים יותר לפרט ולמשפחה. כל זאת...
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ARROGANCE
2/3/2013 06:01 AM
The line between arrogance and necessary self-confidence is indeed a thin one. Yet we find throughout Torah and Talmud that arrogance is a grievous character trait, so much so that one is allowed to go to the opposite extreme of abject humility in order to avoid being ensnared in behaving arrogantly. A person, even one who strives for humility must nevertheless possess self-confidence and...
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TAXES
1/28/2013 01:23 PM
One of the major certainties of human life is that we are all obliged to pay taxes to the governments that rule over us. In the history of humankind there has never been a government that did not need more money. Governments are by their very nature, inefficient and wasteful of the money that it brings in. Therefore all cost-cutting measures no matter how loudly publicized and grandly advertised...
