I have been attending and participating in a cardiac rehab exercise program for the past fifteen months. I attend twice a week and spend an hour each time doing rather vigorous exercise under the watchful eyes of those in charge of the program. Even though I was only originally approved to the program for one year I have continued on my own past the mandatory time. All of my fellow...
The explicit descriptions of the disasters, personal and national, that make up a large potion of this week’s parsha raise certain issues. Why do Moshe and the Torah paint such a harsh and unforgiving picture of the Jewish future before the people? And if we expect people to glory in their Jewishness, is this the way to sell the product, so to speak? We all support the concept of truth in...
The modern liberal Jew has redefined Judaism according to his or her wants and fashion. He or she has created a religion that has no fixed laws, that is built on vacuous slogans (see tikun olam), that embraces moral relativity and abhors tribal loyalties and defines Judaism in purely currently acceptable universalistic terms. This type of Judaism has removed all the peculiarities and uniqueness...
The idea of the necessity of a fence on one’s roof and exposed staircases and high landings is a very logical and realistic one. The Torah itself advances this simple reasoning by stating that otherwise one may fall from that exposed area with painful if not tragic consequences. However halacha and practicality indicate that not everyone is obligated in this mitzvah and that there are physical...
The sound of the shofar reverberated in our synagogue this week as the month of Elul began. It signaled the approach of the Days of Awe and its attendant holidays only a few short weeks from now. In previous generations, devoid as they were from today’s omnipresent technological wonders and obsessive necessity for instant communication with everybody and anybody, Elul took on a somber and...
This week’s parsha emphasizes, albeit in an indirect fashion, the litigious nature of human society and the requirement for the appointment of judges to decide disputes and for police to enforce those decisions. A perfect world needs no judges or courts, police or bailiffs. Our very imperfect world cannot reasonably hope to function and exist in their absence. Law and order are the...
בחודש שעבר הספקתי להשתתף בשתי השקות של ספרים. שני הספרים היו, לדעתי, יצירות חשובות שמצדיקות קהל קוראים יהודי נרחב. האחד, שנקרא "גור האריה מפראג", הוא הסבר באנגלית לפירוש המהר"ל מפראג, הגאון האגדי שחי לפני 500 שנה, לפירוש...
I was able to participate last month in two book launches. Both books were and are, in my opinion, important works that warrant readership by the broader Jewish public. One book, “The Lion Cub of Prague” is an English elucidation of the the Bible and the classic commentary of Rashi from the legendary sixteenth century scholar and savant, the Maharal of Prague. The book was authored by Moshe...
בפרשת השבוע ממשיכה התורה לעסוק בנושא שהופיע בפרשיות הקודמות בספר דברים ומדגישה שוב שאנחנו תמיד עומדים בפני בחירות ברורות בחיים – ברכות או קללות, טוב או רע. לכאורה, מילות התורה אינן מציעות שום דרך ביניים בשאלות יסוד...
In this week’s parsha the Torah continues with the theme that runs through the previous parshiyot of Dvarim, that we are always faced with stark choices in life – either blessings or curses, good or evil. The words of the Torah seemingly offer little option for middle ground on these basic issues of belief and behavior. Yet, we are all aware that the events in life are rarely, if ever, all...
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