Between Truth And Peace
Moses’s motto was: Let the law pierce the mountain. Aaron, however, loved peace and pursued peace and made peace between man and man.
Improbable Endings And The Defeat Of Despair
Parshat Vayeshev has the form of a Greek tragedy. Judaism is the opposite of tragedy. It tells us that every bad fate can be averted and that despair is never justified; today’s curse may be the beginning of tomorrow’s blessing.
Sprints And Marathons
You perpetuate a transformative event by turning it into a ritual.
Speaking To Non-Jews About God
Judaism was and remains unique in its combination of universalism and particularism. We believe that God is the God of all humanity. He created all. He is accessible to all. He cares for all. He has made a covenant with all. Yet there is also a relationship with God that is unique to the Jewish people. It alone has placed its national life under His direct sovereignty
Abortion: The Debate Continues
One passage in this week’s sedrah shows how differences in interpretation can lead to, or flow from, profound differences in culture. Ironically, the subject concerned – abortion – remains deeply contentious to this day.
A Palace In Flames
Avraham is the father of faith--not as acceptance but as protest
Giving Thanks
Judaism is “gratitude with attitude.” And this, according to recent scientific research, really is a life-enhancing idea and the source of the command to give thanks is to be found in this week’s parsha
A People ‘Alone’ – Not A Blessing But A Curse
It means a people prepared to stand alone if need be, living by its own moral code, having the courage to be different and to take the road less traveled.
The Cry On Yom Kippur
We are a hyper-verbal people. We talk, we argue, we pontificate, we deliver witty repartee and clever put-downs. Jews may not always be great listeners but we are among the world’s great talkers.
Healing The Trauma Of Loss
Moses at the rock was not so much a prophet as a man who had just lost his sister.
The Rejection Of Rejection
The people may be faithless to G-d but G-d will never be faithless to the people.
How To Change The World
We can make a difference, and it is potentially immense. That should be our mindset, always.
Making Sense Of The Sin Offering
We think of a sin as something we did intentionally, yielding to temptation perhaps, or in a moment of rebellion. That is what Jewish law calls b’zadon in biblical Hebrew or b’mezid in rabbinic Hebrew. That is the kind of act we would have thought calls for a sin offering. But actually such an act cannot be atoned for by an offering at all. So how do we make sense of the sin offering?
The Disguises In Genesis
Joseph is now the ruler of Egypt. The famine he predicted has come to pass. It extends beyond Egypt to the land of Canaan. Seeking to buy food, Joseph’s brothers make the journey to Egypt. They arrive at the palace of the man in charge of grain distribution:
Completing His Father’s Journey
The call to Abraham, with which Parshat Lech Lecha begins, seems to come from nowhere:
“Leave your land, your birthplace, and your father’s house, and go to a land that I will show you.”
Spontaneity: Good Or Bad?
Why then was spontaneity wrong for Nadav and Avihu yet right for Moshe Rabbeinu? The answer is that Nadav and Avihu were Kohanim, Priests. Moses was a Navi, a Prophet.
The Cup Of Hope
The 5th cup is supported by a 5th expression of Deliverance: “And I will bring you to the land..."
Do Not Shame: Tamar’s Righteous Lesson
Tamar realizes Judah has no intention of giving her his last son. Now trapped-an agunah-she acts
To Renew Our Days
The last two commands of the Torah, mentioned in this week's parsha-Hakhel and the command to write, or at take part in writing, a Sefer Torah-are about renewal, first collective, then individual.
The Birth Of History
The aspect of G-d that appears in the days of Moses and the Israelites is radically different, and it’s only because we are so used to the story that we find it hard to see how radical it was.
To Bless the Space Between Us
It is the space we create for one another that allows love to be like sunlight to a flower
The Power Of Ruach
In Bereishit Rabbah, it is indicated that the division of the sea was, as it were, programmed into Creation from the outset. It was less a suspension of nature than an event written into nature from the beginning, to be triggered at the appropriate moment in the unfolding of history.
How Leaders Fail
There are times when you need someone with the courage to stand against the crowd, others when you need a peacemaker.
A Nation Of Storytellers
Gardner’s argument is that what makes a leader is the ability to tell a particular kind of story – one that explains ourselves to ourselves and gives power and resonance to a collective vision.
Two Types Of Leadership
Adaptive leadership is called for when the world is changing, circumstances are no longer what they were, and what once worked works no more.
Leadership Beyond Despair
We identify with the heroes of the Bible because, despite their greatness, they never cease to be human, nor do they aspire to be anything else. Hence the phenomenon of which the sedra of Beha’alotecha provides a shattering example: the vulnerability of some of the greatest religious leaders of all time, to depression and despair.
What Made Joshua And Caleb Different?
People with the growth mindset react differently. They don't just seek challenge; they thrive on it. The bigger the challenge, the more they stretch.
Servant Leadership
Moses represents the birth of a new kind of leadership. That is what Korach and his followers did not understand. Many of us do not understand it still.
Joseph And The Risks Of Power
Mikketz represents the most sudden and radical transformation in the Torah. Joseph, in a single day, moves from zero to hero, from forgotten, languishing prisoner to viceroy of Egypt, the most powerful man in the land, in control of the nation’s economy.
The Jews’ Fate – And G-d
When Jews are defeated and sent into exile, it is not only a tragedy for them. It is a tragedy for G-d.
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