Our tradition teaches that the founder of the Jewish people, Avraham, is the one who introduced the…
Rosh Hashanah 2: Out of Order
One of the fundamental debates in Biblical interpretation is whether the Torah is written in…
Lech Lecha: A Man of Faith
“And G-d said to Abram, ‘Go forth from your land, your birthplace and the land of your fathers’” (…
Noach: A Man For All Generations
As we move through the different stages of life, the challenges we face tend to change, with the…
Breisheet: The Creation of Man
"And G-d saw all that He had made, and behold, it was very good. It was evening and it was morning…
Shemini Atzeret: Three is Not a Crowd
Unlike our other holidays, the holiday of Sukkot does not celebrate a particular historical…
Beitza 16: Preparing for Shabbat
Debates between Beit Hillel and Beit Shammai are the bread and butter of Mishnaic discourse.…
Shabbat Chol HaMoed: A Long Journey
It is hard to imagine a more impactful ritual than that of our weekly Torah reading. While its…
Beitza 6: Nothing New Under the Sun
It is on Sukkot that we read sefer Kohelet. A devar Torah on masechet Beitza is not the…
Sukkot: The Season of Joy
"On the first day, you must take for yourself a fruit of the citron tree, an opened palm frond,…
Haazinu: The Lessons of History
Despite our long and frequently miraculous past, the actual study of Jewish history is an oft-…
Yom Kippur: Far and Near
“With the approval of Hamakom, the Omnipresent, and with the approval of the congregation, in the…
Beitza 5: Two Days of Yom Kippur
The State of California today is voting on whether to recall and remove its governor from…
Beitza 4: Fresh Eggs
As most investors know, there is little that rattles the markets more than uncertainty.…
Nitzavim: What Do You Do?
Rare is the person who measures his success by looking only at themselves, trying to determine how…
Vayelech: Time for a Change
"And G-d said, 'My spirit shall not continue to judge him forever; he is nothing but …
Beitza 2: It's Better to Permit
In our last post, we noted the principle milta d’lo schicha lo gazru ba rabbanan,…
Rosh Hashanah: Sounding the Shofar
The blowing of the shofar is a most enigmatic mitzvah. The reasons we eat matzah,…