When most people hear “fear of God,” they picture the same fear dictators like Putin or Kim Jong Un demand — the kind that crushes thought and freedom. But what if the Torah’s fear of God is the opposite — a force that empowers, enlightens, and sets you free?
In Parshat Yisro, we’re told to keep Shabbat because God created the world. But in Va’eschanan, we’re told it’s because we were taken out of Egypt. Why the shift? Is this a contradiction—or something deeper?
There are only a handful of Torah portions named after individuals. Noach, Yisro, Korach, Balak, Pinchas, and if you want to get technical, Chaya Sarah. Putting Chaya Sarah aside (since […]
In the past I’ve discussed the differences between the first paragraph of Shema and the second. The first paragraph is generally referred to as the V’ahavta, while the second paragraph […]
I don’t know if I had ever even heard of tefillin before I started my journey of exploring Judaism. So if you are at all like me from ten years […]
Continuing with my series of posts about the Shema, previously I explored ideas surrounding the main sentence, Shema Yisroel, Hashem Elokeinu, Hashem Echad. If we were to look at the […]
The Shema is considered one of the most paramount pieces of scripture in all of Judaism. The verse found in Devarim (Deuteronomy) isn’t so much a prayer as it is […]
It’s hard to hear the word Yichud room and not have at least a tiny immature snicker. Like in a middle school sex ed class, it’s not so much the […]
If someone was to tell you it’s a good thing to strive to be an intermediate or in the middle, you’d look at them like they were crazy. That is […]
Shema isn’t a prayer. Colloquially we tend to refer to any words meant for God as prayer. That can mean requests, praise, or gratitude. But None of those sentiments are […]
Six Degrees Of Kosher Bacon 