Changing The Past
We can only change the world if we can change ourselves. That is why the book of Genesis ends with the story of Joseph and his brothers.
A New Relationship
Because the law came before the land, even when Jews lost the land they still had the law. This meant that even in exile, Jews were still a nation.
Hierarchy And Politics: The Never-Ending Story
Where there is hierarchy, there will be competition as to who is the alpha male.
Overcoming Setbacks
We sense the pressure Moses is under.
Moses: the Heroic Model
It was Moses who mediated with God.
Covenant & Conversation: Bamidbar: The Ever-Repeated Story
But the Torah is not mere history as a sequence of events. The Torah is about the truths that emerge through time.
The Aesthetic In Judaism
The word kavod – dignity or honor – appears sixteen times, but in fourteen (2x7) of these cases the reference is to the glory of G-d.
Encampments & Journeys
In the sanctuary, the specific domain called “the holy” is where we meet God on His terms, not ours. Yet this too is God’s way of conferring dignity on mankind.
The White Lie
Is it permitted to tell a white lie? Not only is it permitted to tell a white lie to save a life; it is also permitted to do so for the sake of peace. And we learn this in this week's
The Disguises In Genesis
Jacob, Leah, Tamar and Joseph discover that, though they may never win the affection they desire, G-d is with them and that, ultimately, is enough. A disguise hides one from others, but not from G-d
The Leader As Teacher
Other nations, says Moses, will recognize the miraculous nature of the Jewish story.
The Second Tithe And The Basis Of Strong Societies
Tocqueville believed that democracy encouraged individualism. As a result, people would leave the business of the common good entirely to the government, which would become ever more powerful, eventually threatening freedom itself.
G-d’s Shadow
Art in Hebrew – omanut – has a semantic connection with emunah, faith or faithfulness. A true artist is faithful both to his materials and to the task...
The Power Of Dreams
From Joseph we learn three principles. The first: Dream dreams. Second: Leaders interpret other people’s dreams. Third: Find a way to implement dreams:
Leadership Means Making Space
All human authority needs checks and balances if it is to remain uncorrupted. In particular, political and religious leadership, keter malchut and keter kehunah, should never be combined.
When The “I” Is Silent
More than prayer changes G-d, it changes us. It lets us see, feel, and know that “G-d is in this place.” That is why, and where, Jacob, established Ma’ariv, the evening prayer.
The Universality Of Wisdom
In parshat Yitro, Israel receives its first system of governance: a hierarchical structure of authority with Moses at the top. Why did this important development come, as it were, from outside?
A Portable Home
The very concept of making a home in finite space for an infinite presence seems a contradiction in terms. The answer, still astonishing in its profundity, is contained at the beginning of this week’s parsha: “They shall make a Sanctuary for Me, and I will dwell in them [betokham]” (Exodus 25:8).
Beyond Martyrdom: Sanctifying The Name
Having chosen to identify His Name with the people of Israel, G-d is, as it were, caught between the demands of justice on the one hand, and public perception on the other.
The Miracle Of A Child
Why the binding? Why put Abraham and Sarah through the agony of thinking that the son for whom they have waited for so long is about to die? We cherish what we wait for and what we most risk losing.
Torah As Song
The decisive points of the narrative alone are emphasized, what lies between is non-existent; time and place are undefined and call for interpretation...
The Uniqueness Of Sukkot
The Sukkah represents the singular character of Jewish history, the experience of exile and homecoming, the long journey across the wilderness of time.
The Religious Significance Of Israel
Whatever the subplots and subsidiary themes of the Chumash, its overarching narrative is the promise of and journey to the land. Jewish history begins with Avraham and Sarah’s journey to it. The four subsequent books of the Torah, from Exodus to Deuteronomy, are taken up with the second journey in the days of Moshe.
How Yom Kippur Changes Us
What have you achieved this past year with the help of God, and what would you like to achieve with His help next year?
Building Confidence
The antidote to fear, both of failure and success, lies in the passage with which the parsha ends: the command of tzitzit
Light In Dark Times
It is at these points of maximal vulnerability that he encounters G-d and finds the courage to continue despite all the hazards of the journey.
Forever Young
If you are prepared to learn something new, you can be 103 and still young. If you are not prepared to learn something new, you can be 23 and already old.
Following Moshe
Dignity is not a privilege of birth. Honor is not confined to those with the right parents. In the world defined and created by Torah, everyone is a potential leader.
How Shall We Live?
It is the most famous, majestic and influential opening of any book in literature: “In the beginning, G-d created the heavens and the earth.” What is surpassingly strange is the way Rashi – most beloved of all Jewish commentators – begins his commentary:
Walking Together
There is an image that haunts us across the millennia, fraught with emotion. It is the image of a man and his son walking...
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