Parshas Vayishlach – The Sun Will Shine Again
Food plays a significant role in Judaism. Whether it is the foods that we are required to eat (e.g., matzah and maror on Passover), or foods that are customary to …
Parshas Vayeitzei – Simple Pleasures
What do children look forward to most? A) School, B) Playing at home, or C) A family vacation to Disney World? A quick survey shows the answer is undoubtedly C. …
Parshas Va’eschanan – Staying in Love
Have you ever fallen in love? You know, the head-over-heels, sweaty palms, heart-pounding, can-think-of-nothing-else kind of love? If you have, it is sadly somewhat likely that you also have fallen …
Parshas Vayigash – Fate and Future
The Irish-American writer John O’Hara opens his novel Appointment in Samarra with the following passage from British novelist Somerset Maugham: DEATH SPEAKS: There was a merchant in Bagdad who sent his servant …
Parshas Shoftim – His Royal Lowness
“Let them eat cake!” Popularly attributed to Queen Marie Antoinette, this quote has entered our lexicon to express the callousness and obliviousness of the royalty and upper class to the …
Parshas Shoftim – Our Brother’s Keeper
A corpse. A corpse on Union Street, New Orleans. It is seventeen years later, and I still cannot get the vision out of my mind. In the tragic aftermath of …
Parshas Re’eh – Doing What’s Good and What’s Right
“I don’t care what anyone else thinks, I do what I know is right!” Ever come across someone with this attitude? Have any friends or relatives like that? Strong minded. …
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Parshas Re’eh – The Road Not Taken
As someone with a lousy (read: nonexistent) sense of direction, a GPS is one of the best gifts I have ever received. However, even the GPS was no match for …
Parshas Maasei – Coming Home, Leaving Home
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 …
Parshas Chukas – Cast Your Bread Upon the Water
“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 …