Pesach: Why Does the 4 Questions Have Only 1 Question?
Ma nishtanah halailah hazeh mikol haleilot? The treasured moment of the Passover Sedar where the youngest child sings a song about asking the 4 Questions. He/she probably doesn’t really care […]
Category Archives: Posts by Ben
Pesach: The Matzah! – By Ben
It’s that time of year again. Where you’re stuck eating that stale saltine cracker for a week while your non-Jewish friends say, “Matzah? I love that stuff!” Yes, everyone’s favorite […]
Shemini – Playing with Fire
In the midst of endless halacha (laws) and details of sacrifices etc, the Torah does jump back to the narrative on occasion. And in parsha Shemini, the narrative it jumps […]
Purim (part 2): A Roadmap to Jewish Halloween — By Ben
Between Marc and my entry last week, this is the 3rd Purim post from SixDegrees. And as well as those posts expressed the spirit of Purim, I wanted to lay […]
Jewish Holidays: Purim (part 1) – by Ben
Purim is just a week away. Growing up, all holidays other than Rosh Hashana, Yom Kippur, Chanukah, and Passover, I knew virtually nothing about. I vaguely remember dressing up for […]
Pekudei – The Relationship Perspective – By Ben
Pekudei ends the 2nd book of the Torah, Shemos (Exodus). This parsha is reminiscent of previous parshas, dealing mostly with the building of the Mishkan. And though there is plenty to […]
Vayakhel — 39 Ways Not to Work
With parshas Vayakhel, once again we are given the commandment to observe Shabbos. Six days work may be done, but on the seventh day you shall have sanctity, a day […]
Ki Sisa – He is a Jealous Almighty God
Parshas Ki Sisa has the sin of the golden calf, the receiving of the tablets of the 10 commandments, the mitzvah of Shabbat, a near extermination of the Jewish people by God, and […]
Tetzaveh – The Most Important verse in Torah
There is a Midrash which asks the question “What is the most important verse in all of Torah?” And the discussion comes up with three answers. Shema Yisroel, Hashem Elokeinu, […]
Terumah – Separate and certainly not Equal
This week’s parsha is one of the driest in the 5 books. It reads like a set of Ikea instructions. There’s no story and there’s not even weird Mitzvahs for you […]
Six Degrees Of Kosher Bacon 