Modern society often expects people to keep their emotions in check and to avoid displaying them publicly. This is especially true of our leaders…
Vayikra: Time to Reflect
When making reference to biblical verses, we tend to identify them by chapter and verse. This most convenient system is of non-Jewish origin and…
Parshat Hachodesh: Timing is Everything
“In the first month of the second year on the first of the month, the Tabernacle was erected” (Shemot 40:2). Sefer Shemot concludes with…
Ki-Tisa: Where is Moshe
The mark of a great leader is the ability to inspire others—even in their absence. A great company operates at peak efficiency even when the CEO is…
Tezaveh: Beyond Clothes
One of the key ways by which groups self-identify is through the medium of clothes. Almost all religions have some form of dress code or …
Mishpatim: Sequel to Sinai
It is common after a major event to have difficulty getting back into our daily routine. Whether it is a child's wedding, an exotic vacation or a…
Yitro: A Perfect Ten
In the Western world, the number ten represents perfection. Not surprisingly, this concept seems to be rooted in our biblical tradition. “In…
Beshalach: Who's Up First
The problem of theodicy—why there is evil in this world—has bothered thinking people from time immemorial. We cannot answer Moshe’s…
Bo: The First Born
In the non-egalitarian society of the Bible, it was evident that the bechor, the firstborn—being the one designated to carry on the legacy…
Vaera: 137 and Counting
One hundred and thirty seven is not a number that would appear to have much significance, at least not from a Jewish perspective. Yet the Torah found…
Shemot: A New Leader
In today's world of the 30-second soundbite, good oratory skills are a necessary ingredient for any aspiring politician. Good politicians…
Vayechi: 17 Plus 17
Sefer Breisheet begins with the grandeur of creation, detailing the many new life forms, and with great hope for the human race. This hope was to be…
Vayigash: Reconciliation?
Hugs, kisses, joy and forgiveness. So appears the reunion of Yosef and his family after twenty-two long years. “Don’t be sad nor reproach…
Mikeitz: Family First
Judaism has always maintained that a strong family life is the most important ingredient to create and sustain a person of character and integrity.…
Chanukah: Clothes Make the Man
There is no more powerful symbol than light in our tradition. It is how we usher in the Shabbat, march down the wedding aisle, mark the yahrzeit of a…
VaYeshev: Coats and Goats
We tend to divide the Bible into narrative and law. The former teaches ethical and moral values while the latter instructs us on how we must conduct…
VaYishlach: Where Was Rivka?
One of the fascinating (and, at times, frustrating) aspects of the Torah is how much information it does not tell us. We know nothing of Abraham…
Vayezei: Making One Pray
"And G-d saw that Leah was hated, and He opened her womb" (Breisheet 29:31). Apparently, Leah—as was the case with Sarah, Rivka, and…