Shmot, 21:20 Nationhood Judaism is not a religion. Unlike other religions, belonging to the Jewish People is not dependent on ones faith, it is dependent on ones birth: once Jewish always Jewish. Being Jewish is passed on genetically through the maternal line. However neither is Judaism a race because it is not purely hereditary; one can convert into Judaism. So what does being Jewish mean? Judaism is a nationality. Jews are citizens of a nation. The Jewish nation is unique because although it has a country, its country is not what makes it a nation. In many ways the Torah is to us ..

The information age is over. The post-digital age or, what Daniel H. Pink[1]calls “the Conceptual Age”, has begun. Conventional educational models cannot adequately prepare our minds and those of our children for this new age. (Refer to http://www.iawaken.org/shiurim/view.asp?id=6577 for a more detailed explanation of why not.) Paradoxically, Torah is the learning tool more suited than any other to mold the minds of people who will lead in this post-digital era. Children raised in the digital era think differently from the rest of us[2]. In fact their brains may even be “wired” ..

Breishit, Chap. 23, & 24:2   Purchasing and Investing This week I gave back a car I had been leasing for four years. It was the first car I have driven that I really “loved”! The experience led me to reflect on ownership. The Hebrew word ba’al means “owner”. Ba’al also means “master”.  Ownership describes a static relationship between a person and an object and is achieved through legal transaction. Mastery describes a dynamic relationship achieved through focused attention and disciplined effort. Normally one owns things but one masters skills a..

Breishit, 27:4 Health and Spirituality Eating, exercise and caring for our other physical needs are so much more than the nourishment of our bodies. They are an avodah (a spiritual practice), a religious responsibility, a mitzvah. The connection of our souls to our bodies is the most fragile aspect of human life. When our bodies lose their connection to our souls, death results. Spiritual activities nourish our souls, but it is our physical health that keeps our bodies connected to our souls and keeps us alive. Physical health is a Mitzvah; that is why we sayBera..

In Memory of Harav HaGaon Reb Azriel Goldfein ztz"l Zohar (3:46b): © Rabbi David Lapin, 2007 This week a dark tragedy befell the Jewish community of South Africa: it lost its beloved and revered Rosh Yeshiva, Rabbi Azriel Goldfein ztz"l, originally from Minnesota, USA. He was a man of gigantic Torah stature by any international standard. But his egoless humility, his love of people and adoration of the Torah, his fanatical pursuit of shalom, and his almost fanatical insistence on normality, nobility of character and balance set him apart in a regal class of his own. The communi..

The Spiritual marathon Athletes hit their peak somewhere under the age of 30. Then it’s downhill all the way! People who compete (against no one but their own potential) in the sport of spiritual athletics on the other hand, reach their peak much, much later on. In last week’s “Toldot with Meforshim Shiur for Women (and Men)”http://iawaken.org/shiurim/view.asp?id=6506 I explained the Kelei Yakar who sees this as the essence of the name “Yaacov”. Eisav is born near perfect (from the perspective of his physical appearance), but Yaacov (named that by G-d Himself not by his parents[1]..

  I am Accountable With the authority of majesty, Yehuda opens one of the most powerful speeches ever recorded: "Bi Adoni" ("I am accountable").[1]  Taking personal responsibility irrespective of the consequences, Yehuda manifests the royal qualities that have for some time distinguished him.  "We are both Kings, and can speak as equals[2]", he implies to Yosef (the last letters of the first three words of the Parsha spellshaveh - equality). We see Yehuda taking personal responsibility last week in Mikeitzwhen his father refused to allow Binya..

Bereichit 48:10-11; and Seforno 48:10   The Power of Sight We underestimate the power of seeing. Seeing the objective world around us is an undervalued activity; something few of us recognize as an activity at all.  We rarely see one another truly, even in intimate relationships.  Sometimes romantic couples will look deeply into one another’s eyes when they date, but that is likely to happen less frequently in the routine of their marriage.  We are often preoccupied when we see, and so we see very little of what is around us; what is happening on any level deeper..