I spent the better part of the afternoon of Tisha B’Av reading a book recently published concerning the history of Chicago's Orthodox rabbinate from the late 1800s to the middle of the twentieth century. The book has special meaning to me since I knew many of the rabbis described in the book during my early years in Chicago a half-century ago. Also the fact that my father and grandfather... READ MORE →
It is an established fact that Shabbat trumps almost every other commandment, custom and practice in Jewish life and law. Allowing circumcision on Shabbat is the exception and not the rule. Whether confronting the fast days or feast days, Shabbat takes precedence. It rules, by rabbinic decree, over shofar and lulav as well as over the mournful commemorations of personal and national grief, loss... READ MORE →
The book of Dvarim begins on a somber note. In fact the entire book, for most of its contents and statements, is a very sobering volume. Our teacher and leader Moshe reviews for us his career and the events of his leadership of Israel over the past tumultuous forty years. He spares neither himself nor the people of Israel in his assessment of the mistakes and misfortunes that occurred over that... READ MORE →
The opening theme of this week's double parsha/Torah reading, concerns itself with the laws of vows and verbal commitments. The Torah nevertheless introduces this subject by stating that these laws and values were transmitted to the heads of the tribes of Israel. Since these laws are binding upon the entire Jewish people and are clearly discussed and explained in the Talmud in the tractate of... READ MORE →
עומדים בפנינו אתגרים גדולים בחיי היומיום. יש לכולנו דחפים טבעיים שדוחפים חלק מהאנשים לעשות מעשי חטא. התלמוד מסכם את המצב הזה בתמציתיות באמירה "רובם בגזל, מיעוטם בעריות, וכולם באבק לשון הרע". כסף הוא פיתוי עצום, והדחף... READ MORE →
There are great challenges in everyone's life. There are natural drives which exist within us that force people to commit sinful behavior. The Talmud succinctly sums up the situation by stating: “Most people steal, a minority of them are sexually immoral and all are covered with the dust of evil speech and slander.” Money is a great temptation and the drive to acquire it is so strong that... READ MORE →
בפרשת השבוע אנחנו עורכים היכרות עם החשודים הקבועים שתמיד נוכחים ופעילים בהיסטוריה היהודית ובענייני העולם. בלק ובלעם הם אבות הטיפוס של אויבי העם היהודי בכל הדורות. האמת היא שאין להם שום סיבה לגיטימית להיות האויבים... READ MORE →
This week's parsha introduces us to the usual suspects who are always present and active in Jewish history and world affairs. Balak and Bilaam are prototypes of the enemies of the Jewish people throughout the ages. They really have no legitimate cause to be our enemies. They impute hostile and aggressive behavior to the Jewish people, when in reality none of this is present. They are... READ MORE →
Over all of the millennia since the incident described in this week’s parsha regarding Moshe striking the rock instead of speaking to it, the great commentators to Torah have struggled to make this incident more understandable and meaningful to us ordinary mortals. At first glance, the punishment does not seem to fit the crime. Because of this, many of the commentators have seen the incident of... READ MORE →
In last week’s parsha Rashi commented that when the Jewish people stated that they wanted to return to Egypt rather than proceeding to the Land of Israel they thereby intimated that they wanted to replace Moshe as their leader and crown a new king over them. In this week’s parsha, that earlier murmur of dissatisfaction with Moshe and his leadership becomes a full-throated shout. Korach... READ MORE →
