Bamidbar 19 Writing and teaching while I am traveling poses the challenge of discovering new insights with very limited resources by way ofsefarim. That’s not a bad thing: it makes me realize how dependent we are on the giants of Torah, both to stimulate our own thought processes and to verify them. When we don’t have access to the array of sefarim normally available (and I still haven’t got used to using the internet as a substitute,) we are left to our own resources. We are compelled to go deep inside ourselves to verify the truth of a thought or insight. I for one, certainly ..

What a hard time this is for us. This year that statement does not refer to our History, but to our current situation. The events of these weeks have led me to some reflection that I would like to share with you. Will sacrificing be re-instituted? Will Korbanot be reintroduced in the Messianic era? Absolutely! And I hope and pray that will be soon. Why? Because making a sacrifice is about demonstrating the will to pay a price. And the price we are willing to pay for something determines the value we attach to it. Korbanot (sacrifices), set the price we are willing to pay for our a..

Disproportionality and Culpability Through all the media clutter surrounding the sad and worrying events in Eretz Yisrael, there are two key moral-legal themes. The first is the issue of proportionality in International Law. International law allows sovereign states to protect and defend themselves against attack. It is internationally acknowledged that Hezbollah initiated hostilities and that Israel has the right to respond with force. The question is whether or not the Israeli response is disproportionate to the provocation. The second theme is around culpability: In what way are the..

Devarim 8:10   Saying “Please” is Easier than Saying “Thank-you” The study of Torah, deep reflection into the wisdom of Hashem, is as nourishing to the soul as food is to the body. Both sources of nourishment are called Lechem . Both entail a struggle ( Lechem is aligned with locheim – “battle”). Both require that a beracha is said, both before partaking of them, and after. But for Torah, the more important beracha is said before reading it, and for a meal the more important beracha is said after eating. Our Bi..

Devarim 24:5   Feeling and transmitting feeling It is quite possible that animals, like humans, can experience some form of emotion. What is uniquely human though, is the capacity to transmit emotions to others. Humans can make others feel happy, sad, proud. That is the essence of art and music: the transmission of human emotion from artist to observer or listener. We can enthuse and inspire. We can uplift and move others to action. We can entertain and delight. Not only can humans transmit emotions, but often they derive more fulfillment from transmitting emotion, than from..

Shoftim veShotrim – A Judiciary and a Police Force Regulations and enforcement are socially necessary. Yet regulations and enforcement do not make people great. People define their greatness by the degree to which they perceive themselves as takers or contributors. Takers need regulations and enforcement. Contributors do not. The Sarbanes-Oxley regulatory response to the Enron/Worldcom scandal does nothing to raise the ethical standard of business. Of course we do need a sound legal system with strong punitive consequences for those who exploit others for their own gain. But so long as..

Change! You can do it – and Now is the Time   Devarim 26:1   Positive Thinking How powerful is positive thinking? Have you tried it? If you have, you probably found, as I have, that sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn’t. Here’s why: If merely thinking positively about something made it happen, no one would be wanting for anything. Clearly it requires something of us that isn’t that easy. It requires i) courage, ii) selflessness (the absence of ego) and iii) absolute trust in Hashem. With these factors, positive thinking almost always works. Without them, i..

Devarim 30:1-6   Exposing Vulnerability-Growing Trust-Building Intimacy Do you remember Eric Segal’s famous line in Love Story of the ‘70s, “Love means never having to say you’re sorry”? With one ever so popular stroke of his pen, Segal deprived people of the growth and wonderment that stems from the majestic yet humble act of apology. It is easy to apologize as an act of courtesy or social ritual. We say “sorry” dozens of times a day. But saying “I am sorry” in a way that we mean it, and that comes across with authenticity, is so hard because it exposes our vulnerability. T..