Balak — Which Way You Wanna Go? — by Ben
This week we have talking donkeys, angles with flaming swords, and a Moabite orgy. But probably the most notable element is Bilaam. If you’re unfamiliar with the parsha, basically the […]
Author Archives: eltram
Chukas – Moses Badman? — By Ben
Ohh parhas Chukas and the famous incident with Moses hitting the rock. I wrote about it last year within the context of Moses’s whole life. But I decided to come […]
Korach – The Stick of Truth — By Ben
Parshas Korach has a lot of drama. Needless to say, after last week’s parsha and the Jews being condemned to wander the desert for 40 years, you could see why […]
Shelach – Something to Cry About — By Ben
I got fired yesterday. Okay, not really fired, let go. And I’ll work until the end of next week. The parting was amicable and my boss is fair, generous and we’ll […]
Justified Selfishness — By Ben
Pirkei Avos 1:14 says, [Rabbi Hillel] used to say: If I am not for myself who will be for me? But if I am only for myself, what am I? […]
Shavuos – Letting Yourself Ask for Help — By Ben
I’ve worked in restaurants on and off since college. The job can be tremendously stressful, hectic, and in the midst of the dinner rush, can feel like war. Imagine that 3 […]
Praying with Two Hearts — By The Anonymous Blogger
Mishneh 4:21 in Pirkei Avos reads, Rabbi Elazar Ha-Kapar says, Kinah, Taivah, and Kavod drive a man out of the world. Kinah is translated as envy or jealousy. Kavod is the […]
Hod. The Link between Pesach Sheni, Lag B’Omer, and Manna from Heaven. – By Ben
We’re in a really odd time right now in the Jewish calendar. Between Pesach and Shavuos is a what’s known as the counting of the Omer. For 49 days we count each […]
Kedoshim – Who the Hell Wants to be Holy? — By Ben
I don’t know about you, but I never have had any desire to be holy. You walk around seeing hassidic men in shtreimels avoiding all secular media or looking away from […]
Trauma, Yom Hashoah, and The Zookeeper’s Wife — By Ben
As we observed Yom Hashoah this past week, we had a special opportunity to look back at what we have lost, who we have lost, and how we as the […]
Six Degrees Of Kosher Bacon 