Written a number of years ago, yet eternally relevant. I write these words from somewhere over the Atlantic Ocean, as I return home to New Jersey from a week-long trip to Israel. But am I really returning home? On the one hand the answer is a resounding yes. I long to reunite with my wonderful …
“Cast your bread upon the waters, for after many days you will find it” (Koheles 11:1). In this week’s Torah portion, we find the Jewish people, in their fortieth year of wandering through the desert, arriving at an area called Kadesh and realizing that there is no water to be found. They are (understandably) not …
From the sea they didn’t want to leave, from the mountain they couldn’t get away fast enough. The Torah tells us that after the miraculous splitting of the sea, all the Egyptian gold and jewelry was washed ashore, and the Jewish people were hesitant to lose the opportunity to gather it in — Moshe had …
Lep’er n. One suffering from leprosy; outcast. (Webster’s Dictionary) Webster has it right. Indeed, as our Torah portion tells us (Numbers 4:2), a leper is both one who is suffering from leprosy and an outcast. Unique among other forms of impurity, leprosy causes a person to be sent completely outside the camp[i], all alone and seemingly deserted[ii]. But he is …
Parshas Nasso – Sensitivity for the Suffering Sinner Read More »
The arduous journey was finally nearing its conclusion. The Jewish people had wandered through the desert for forty long years. Years filled with ups and downs, complaints and miracles, awesome accomplishments and tragic disappointments (much like life itself). Through all their tribulations the Jewish people were not alone; G-d provided them with the greatest leaders …
I ran away from school crying on my very first day of first grade. Why, you ask? Was the teacher a strict disciplinarian? A cruel tyrant who caused innocent children to cry? Actually he was a kind and gentle man. I ran away because he gave me too much recess. HUH?!? Let me explain. My …
Imagine doing a strenuous workout outside on a ninety degree summer’s day. Workout was tough — but you did it. You feel good. Invigorated. You go inside your house & you are thinking about one thing & one thing only – WATER. Water for a cold drink, water for a hot shower. You open the …
Knaidel. K-N-A-I-D-E-L. Knaidel. By properly spelling this Jewish culinary delight, an Indian-American boy won the 2013 Scripps National Spelling Bee, beating out hundreds of other contestants. Jewish bubbies worldwide were kvelling. Of course, knaidel and kvelling aren’t the only Yiddish/Hebrew words that have made it into our lexicon. Thanks to people like Jerry Seinfeld and Ed Koch, words like kosher, chutzpah, klutz, shmooze, and oy vey …