You Had to Be There: Moshe’s Final Rebuke and the Cost of Absence
When I first moved to LA, I worked at a reality TV company. A client hated one of our segments, ironically, the part they had pushed for. Furious, they demanded […]
Tag Archives: Devarim
The Torah Lets Us Have War Brides? — By Ben
Man does this week’s parsha start with a troubling concept. If you should go to war against your enemies and Hashem your God puts them into your hand, and you […]
Eikev – Reward in This World? — By Ben
Last week’s parsha Va’eschanan ends, “You are to guard the commandments and the statutes and the laws that I am commanding you today, to fulfill.” (Devarim 7:11) Rashi clarifies on that last […]
Shema – Words to Live By — By Ben
Not long ago I explored the ideas surrounding the Shema, the mantra that distills the essence of Judaism down to a six word slogan. “Shema Yisroel, Hashem Elokeinu, Hashem Echad” […]
Re’eh — Lookin’ Good ;) — By Ben
This week’s parsha starts out with the ultimate of ultimatums, will you choose blessing or curse? It’s very simple, just do all the commandments and you’ll get blessings. Easy stuff, […]
3 Weeks, 9 Days, and 1 Hell of a Fast (Devarim) — By Ben
So I’ve been in Israel a little over two weeks now. Due to an unpredictable set of circumstances I’ve decided to study in a Yeshiva for 3 months. The dorms […]
Denial isn’t Just a River in Egypt — By Ben
In this week’s parsha (Va’eira) there is the big showdown between Moses and Pharaoh. God sends Moses to plead with Pharaoh for the Jewish people’s freedom and every time Pharaoh says […]
Devarim – Don’t Wanna Hear It — By Ben
With this week’s parsha, we begin reading the final book of the Torah, Devarim (aka Deuteronomy). This book is different from the other books in that it’s virtually one long speech […]
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 […]
Six Degrees Of Kosher Bacon 