Don’t we all wish we could control our time? I typed “How to control my time” in the Google search box and saw 1.36 billion results. Apparently, yes, we all wish we could control our time. With all of the gurus offering time management tips, and though there are many extraordinary time planning tools on Continue Reading »
Imagine yourself as a member of the Levitical family known as the Kohathites. As we learn in this week’s parshah, Bemidbar, they are the ultimate schleppers–it is their responsibility to carry the raw materials of the Mishkan when Israel breaks camp. They put the “portable” in “portable sanctuary.” Their work is considered “avodat massa,” which unlike the removal Continue Reading »
You’re likely familiar with the expression “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” The usual context for this tidbit of wisdom is in the realm of medicine. For example, regular well-patient visits to the doctor are likely to forestall the need for emergency care. Or, maintaining a healthy lifestyle is a preemptive Continue Reading »
In the days since the capture of Boston Marathon bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, much of the nation’s attention has turned, or returned, to the question of the death penalty. Massachusetts state legislators debated but ultimately shelved a proposal to reinstate capital punishment. We can expect the debate to continue in greater earnest in the months Continue Reading »
I hope you were able to get all your accounting obligations in order for tax day this week. The question is: are we ready for the ultimate audit? The Talmudic sage Rava taught that when a person dies and meets with the heavenly court, the interview begins not with questions about Shabbat observance, or our Continue Reading »
With the 65th anniversary of the birth of the State of Israel just a few days away, let’s take some time to ponder the meaning of a key phrase that appears in the prayer for the State: reishit tzmihat geulatenu–the beginning of the flowering of our redemption. What do those words mean to you? Of course, Continue Reading »
You may have read recently of the tragic and bizarre death of Rabbi James Diamond, who was for many years the Hillel director at Princeton University. On Thursday of Hol HaMo’ed Pesah, Rabbi Diamond and friends were entering a car after their weekly Talmud study group in Manhattan, when another car sped out of control, crashed Continue Reading »
“By the merit of righteous women that lived in that generation were the Israelites redeemed from Egypt,” says a midrash in the Talmud (Sotah 11b). The list of women who play an integral role in the Exodus narrative is impressive. Consider Shifrah and Pu’ah, the midwives to the Israelites, and their refusal to carry out Continue Reading »
The Shabbat immediately before Pesah is called Shabbat HaGadol–the Great Shabbat. What’s behind this special name? The most traditional answer is that we name the Shabbat after the culminating phrase of the special haftarah we read from the prophet Malachi. In that verse (3:23), God promises through the prophet to send Eliyah “before the great and awesome day Continue Reading »
This Shabbat, we’ll have the pleasure of learning Torah from USYers from the five boroughs as we host Kiriyah Spring Kinnus at HHJC. And then we have our monthly Lunch n Learn with The Observant Life. Assuming it doesn’t snow this time (!), we’ll look into the chapters on the Secular Justice System and Crime Continue Reading »
