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 […]
Category Archives: Posts by Ben
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 […]
Shelach: So Close But So Far — By Ben
If there’s a Torah portion to make you say, “Oy” this one is it. Aside from the Golden Calf, this is the single most tragic story in the Torah. The generation (everyone over […]
Behaalotecha – Leading the Jewish people… LIKE A BOSS. — By Ben
This week’s parsha has a lot going on. Moses has trouble reading the Ikea instructions on his new Menorah. The Jewish people finally leave Mount Sinai (after a year) but decide they’re […]
Naso: Moved to Act! Not Letting Inspiration Slip Through your Fingers. – By Ben
As you go through the Torah, you’ll find wisdom, dramatic stories, history, some not so dramatic listing of mitzvahs (aka commandments), and lots of meticulous census counting (especially in the book […]
Shavuos: Misunderstanding the 10 Commandments – By Ben
If you’re not an observant Jew, you may not know about the holiday of Shavuos. It takes place 50 days after first day of Passover, which commemorates how long the […]
Bechukosai – Reward & Punishment — By Ben
If you will follow My decrees and observe My commandments and perform them; then I will provide your rains in their time… you will eat your bread to satiety and […]
Behar: What’s Mine is Mine… — By Ben
There’s a mishneh in Perkei Avos (chapter 5:10). There are four temperaments among men; 1) He who says: “What is mine is mine, and what is yours is yours,” […]
Emor: Be a Kiddish Hashem for God’s Sake! — By Ben
Be a role model… Raising the bar… Setting a new standard… Be the change you want to see in the world… A light unto the nations… What do these maxims have in common? […]
Six Degrees Of Kosher Bacon 