Better Than “Live Long and Prosper” — By Ben
“…You can spin a dreidel with Captain Kirk and Mister Spock, both Jewish!” The memorable line from the legendary Adam Sandler ballad, The Hanukkah Song reminds us that Judaism has […]
Category Archives: Numbers/Bamidbar
Rashi Says What Now? (Matos) — By Ben
“Says Rashi…” “If you look at the Rashi…” “Rashi comments…” If you’ve attended a Torah class or read any articles about the Parsha or Gemara you’ve probably heard someone reference […]
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 […]
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 […]
Pinchas: No Country for Old Zealots — By Ben
The Torah has no shortage of troubling passages. But few are as disturbing as the actions of Pinchas and the Torah’s opinion about them. If you’re unfamiliar with it I’ll give […]
Is our ability to speak a blessing or a curse? Parsha Balak — By Barbara Heller
If you’re meant to change someone’s life with your words can you? What’s the opposite of inserting foot in mouth syndrome? I don’t believe that it’s being a wall flower […]
Chukas – A Sentence: The Tragedy of Moses and the Rock — By Ben
In this week’s Torah portion, one of the most confusing and tragic events befalls our prophet Moses. He has been leading the Jewish people in the desert for an exhausting 40 […]
Korach: A Good Reason to Argue – By Ben
In this week’s parsha, once again Moses is confronted by more dissatisfied Jews. It’s becoming such a common theme, I think we should change the name of the book of […]
Six Degrees Of Kosher Bacon 