Category: Jews

  • Korach & the HMS Bounty

    The dispute between Korach and Moses was really an ego trip on Korach’s part. In such a case it would have ended with Korach and his followers fighting with each other, much like the crew of the Bounty who killed each other after they mutinied.

  • Don’t Follow the Crowd

    Joshua & Caleb did not follow the conventional wisdom of the other scouts. They were outliers in their views. Yet they were correct in their analysis while the others were not. This is to teach that it is the outliers who advance ideas, not those who follow the crowd.

  • Prepare the Next Generation

    Moses has to teach Joshua an important lesson in this week’s portion. That if you want a future of the Jewish people then you have to prepare the future leaders to take their positions. Otherwise, there will be no next generation.

  • True Jewish Heritage

    The Museum of Jewish Heritage, a Living Memorial to the Holocaust is an important venue but it gives the wrong message. The true heritage of the Jewish people is when we behave as Jews and keep the commandments that were given us at Mt. Sinai.

  • We Are On A Mission From God

    God took us out of Egypt with a plan. We are to be a light unto the nations. That they should learn from us what a Godly society should be.

  • Service to the Community

    As we approach the giving of the Torah at Mt. Sinai, we have to remember that one the central themes of the Torah is that we are required to be of service to the community. That we are a part of the whole.

  • God’s Hand In History

    When we think about the liberation of the Old City of Jerusalem, we have to remember that it occurred through a miracle. The IDF was able to take the city with ease due to the Jordanians abandoning the all of Judea & Sumaria. With this we see God’s hand in history.

  • We Are Moses’s Progenity

    When the Torah states that these are the progenity of Moses & Aaron, it mentions Aaron’s descendants but is silent on Mases’s. The reason is that Moses’s descendants were not leaders. Aaron’s descendants were.

  • We Get the Leaders We Deserve

    The Torah warns us that if we do not have a moral society we will suffer as a nation. We will get leaders who are unjust and corrupt. Morality comes from the bottom up.

  • Bring Responsible

    The reason for a Jew to become a slave is that he is not able to pay his debts. But the Torah demands that he be set free in the 7th year. If he chooses to remain a slave he is punished because the Torah wants us to be free.