Author: Shlomo Bar-Ayal

  • Spirituality & Returning a Lost Object

    פרשת כי תצא / ט’ באלול תשפ”ב

    The commandment to return a lost object to its owner is an important underpinning of a good society. If your find something, it is up to you to return it. We do this not only for society but for our spiritual well-being.

  • When You Go To War

    פרשת כי תצא / ח’ באלול תשפ”ב

    In this week’s portion we discuss behavior in battle. We might think that a soldier in combat might get a pass for immoral behavior due to the unique nature of being in battle. The Torah says no. He still has to behave within certain bounds.

  • Seeking a Just Society

    פרשת שופטים / ו’ באלול תשפ”ב

    The Torah states “Justice, Justice you will seek.” Note that it does not say “you will do justice only that you will seek it. This means that while we are imperfect humans and will make mistakes, we will do our best to bring justice.

  • The Constitution & The Bible

    פרשת שופטים / ה’ באלול תשפ”ב

    In this week’s portion we learn about the Biblical limits on the king. It is no accident that they match the limitations imposed on the American presidency in the US Constitution. It is important to remember that the most quoted book at the Constitutional Convention was the Book of Deuteronomy.

  • The Key to Jewish Exceptionalism

    פרשת עקב / י”ז באב תשפ”ב

    In the second paragraph of the Shma we see that if we want to be like all other nations, we will suffer the fate of those nations. If we want to be exceptional, we have to teach our youth why we should be exceptional.

  • A Society of Individuals

    פרשת ואתחנן / ט”ו באב תשפ”ב

    It is interesting that the word used for you in the Ten Commandments is in the singular. The Torah is pointing out that society is made up of individuals and if an individual is bad then it is bad for society, & if the individual is good then it is good for society. It is in our hands.

  • A God-Fearing Society

    פרשת ואתחנן – י”ד באב תשפ”ב

    Moses stresses that what we consider civil laws are really religiously basted law. That if the basis of law in a society is not God then the laws will break down and the results will be a dictatorship or anarchy, as we see from the difference in the results of the American and French Revolutions.

  • What is Idolatry?

    פרשת ואתחנן / י”ג באב תשפ”ב

    The first three Commandments are tied together. They warn that God is the supreme being and anything else is idolatry. A that even religion can become an idol.

  • Covetness is the Root of Evil

    פרשת ואתחנן / י”ב באב תשפ”ב

    The 10th Commandment is against covetness. This is important because there are always people who have more than we do. We get jealous of them. Why do they have what they have & we do not. We do not see what they had to do to get where they are.

  • The Second Version of the Ten Commandments

    פרשת ואתנן – י”א באב תשפ”ב

    The version of the 10 Commandments recited this week is slightly different from the original version. In this week’s version we have the word “keep” rather than “remember”. If we do not keep that Sabbath then there is nothing to remember. If we do not remember then there is nothing to keep.