Individual and Society
The most sophisticated and detailed program could fail, even if it is Divine, without the engagement and commitment of the humans in charge of carrying it out.
¿Por Qué Nos Ponemos Tzitzit?
¿Por qué nos ponemos tzitzit? וְהָיָ֣ה לָכֶם֘ לְצִיצִת֒ וּרְאִיתֶ֣ם אֹת֗וֹ וּזְכַרְתֶּם֙ אֶת־כָּל־מִצְוֹ֣ת יְיָ וַעֲשִׂיתֶ֖ם אֹתָ֑ם וְלֹֽא־תָת֜וּרוּ אַחֲרֵ֤י לְבַבְכֶם֙ וְאַחֲרֵ֣י עֵֽינֵיכֶ֔ם אֲשֶׁר־אַתֶּ֥ם זֹנִ֖ים אַחֲרֵיהֶֽם Y os servirá de franja, para que cuando lo veáis os acordéis de todos los mandamientos de Jehová, para ponerlos por obra; y no miréis en pos de vuestro corazón y de […]
Amar a Leah
Tendemos a clasificar muchos de los conflictos familiares de Génesis bajo la rúbrica de la rivalidad entre los hermanos. El término se ha hecho una frase con la que nos sentimos cómodos, un paquete compacto que describe un fenómeno doloroso. Conjura un imágen de una batalla, no con armas, ni letal, sino más un ritual. […]
The Tzitzit Test
Why do we wear Tzitzit? וְהָיָ֣ה לָכֶם֘ לְצִיצִת֒ וּרְאִיתֶ֣ם אֹת֗וֹ וּזְכַרְתֶּם֙ אֶת־כָּל־מִצְוֹ֣ת יְיָ וַעֲשִׂיתֶ֖ם אֹתָ֑ם וְלֹֽא־תָת֜וּרוּ אַחֲרֵ֤י לְבַבְכֶם֙ וְאַחֲרֵ֣י עֵֽינֵיכֶ֔ם אֲשֶׁר־אַתֶּ֥ם זֹנִ֖ים אַחֲרֵיהֶֽם It shall be for you a fringe, and when you see it, you shall remember all the of God’s Mitzvot and you will perform them, and you will not detour, led by […]
Home, Temple, Heaven – Tetzave
For Parashat Tetzave Mishkan Sweet Mishkan What can the Mishkan be analogized to? When I present this question at a class, the first, intuitive answer, is that the Mishkan resembles a home, and the second, which comes after a minute of contemplation, is the Garden of Eden. Like a home, the Mishkan has a table, […]
Dvar Torah for Phinehas
Who was Phineas, after whom our Parasha is named? He was the grandson of Aaron the High Priest, who took action when everyone else was paralyzed with disbelief and confusion. At the end of the previous Parasha we read of Zimri, the Israelite man who brought a Midianite woman with him to the Tabernacle. While […]
The Torah’s Disability Act
אִ֣ישׁ… אֲשֶׁ֨ר יִהְיֶ֥ה בוֹ֙ מ֔וּם, לֹ֣א יִקְרַ֔ב לְהַקְרִ֖יב לֶ֥חֶם אֱלֹהָֽיו – This statement of the Torah, that a man who is not physically wholesome is not allowed to serve at the temple and offer sacrifices, has always been for me a pet peeve, and the attempts of the commentators to explain it did not help […]
Embracing Life
At first sight the laws of Nazir, detailed in Parashat Nasso, seem to suggest that the Torah encourages people to take upon themselves vows of abstinence. A closer, contextual reading, makes it clear that the life of a hermit, away from society and from the world’s bounty, is not the Torah’s idea of a perfect […]
On Trust and Leadership
Why the Book of Numbers is not about numbers What’s in a name? The book of BeMidbar suffers of somewhat of an identity crisis. It is easy to determine the identity of the other books of the Torah. Genesis is about the creation and the life of the forefathers, Exodus is about the exodus and […]
Heifer – Therapy
No matter how well-prepared we are, mentally and emotionally, for the inevitable loss of a close relative or a dear friend, when death strikes, we experience shock, grief, disbelief, and anger. We don’t understand how can the world move on, functioning efficiently as if nothing happened, as if our lives have not been changed irreversibly. […]