Category
torah
In lieu of perfection
Rabbi Yosef Kanefsky
May 1, 2008
Leviticus 19:1-20:27
Right there, in the shadow of the ever-popular \”Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself,\” another mitzvah quietly sits: \”Thou shall surely rebuke thy friend.\” And while this may seem rude or intrusive, the Torah regards the obligation of mutual rebuke as the engine of communal righteousness.
Better safe than sorry
Rabbi Dan Shevitz
January 11, 2008
It is late in the game for Pharaoh. Mitzrayim has just endured the penultimate plague: Dark. Pharaoh now knows he has little time left: It is, for him, the bottom of the ninth.
He summons Moshe, as he has done so many times before, and for the first time conducts an earnest negotiation. The king of Egypt now concedes the demand Moshe had made earlier — everyone may go, even the women and children. Only, says the Pharaoh, you must leave your cattle behind. Moshe declines the offer, and ups the ante. Not only are we going to take our cattle with us, he insists, but you must supplement the herd with some of your own.
Brotherly Love
Rabbi Elazar Muskin
December 14, 2007
With Chanukah recent history, I came across a fascinating review of a new book, \”The Business of Holidays.\” The book\’s editor, Maud Lavin, notes that 81 percent of U.S. households celebrate Christmas with a tree in their homes, and not everybody is Christian. The line between Christmas and Chanukah has become very blurry in recent years, according to Lavin.
Schmoozing with the Shammes of Shanghai
Jack Weiss
October 26, 2006
The Jews of Shanghai, fleeing Nazi persecution, thousands of Jews journeyed halfway around the world to the sanctuary offered by Shanghai\’s unique status as a free trade city.
New Year brings new hope to inmates
Nick Street
September 28, 2006
Daniel, a 24-year-old UCLA student, has gotten under my skin. I met him a month ago when I followed Rabbi Yossi Carron on his rounds through Men\’s Central Jail and Twin Towers Correctional Facility in downtown Los Angeles.
The Key Is Rejoicing
Rabbi Haim Ovadia
August 17, 2006
If you are willing to inflict physical pain upon yourself as a service to your god, why not treat others to the same spiritual experience? Paradoxically, they will be killed or harmed because of your love for them.
The Ultimate Enigma
Rabbi Steven Weil
July 6, 2006
There is logic to honoring one\’s parents. There is a rationale for not stealing or murdering. But for purification in a ruddy, bovine shower, why would God ask such a thing of us?
I\’ll be honest with you. I don\’t know. But neither did King Solomon, the wisest of men. It seems that this is part of the definition of a chok, that its raison d\’etre remains a mystery.
Life More Ordinary
Rabbi Lisa Edwards
April 27, 2006
In this week\’s double Torah portion, Tazria-Metzorah (Leviticus 13, in particular), God instructs Moses and Aaron on the role of priests when people take ill.
Food for Thought
Rabbi Daniel Greyber
April 13, 2006
Scientists will tell you that the senses of smell and taste are most strongly associated with memory. I think eating resembles what learning the Passover story should be — we allow something from outside of ourselves to enter us; we \”digest it\” and change it (it is we who must tell the story so that our children can hear it) and it changes us and nourishes us and stays with us forever.
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