Category: Jews

  • The First Supply Chain Crisis

    פרשת חקת / ח’ בתמוז תשפ”ב

    When Miriam died the well stopped giving water. The Jews were unaware that it was due to Miriam that they had water. It reminds us of all the people who are involved in supplying us with our daily needs.

  • Our Leaders are Human

    פרשת חקת / ז’ בתמוז תשפ”ב

    In this week’s portion Moses hits the rock in the wilderness to bring out water. God tells Moses that he did not do as instructed. He should have spoken to the rock. He was punished for this. The fact that the Torah records this is to underline that Moses was human and not a God.

  • Prepare the Next Generation

    פרשת חקת / ו’ בתמוז תשפ”ב

    One of the lessons of this week’s Portion is that Aaron, Miriam and Moses prepared the leadership to come after them. Do not assume that they will learn by osmosis. They need to be educated both in knowledge and in spirit.

  • The US is Not Just Another Country

    פרשת חוקה / ד’ בתמוז תשפ”ב

    The Hebrew translation of the name of the US does not translate as “the United States” but as The Lands of the Agreement”. Hebrew is the only language that translates the US in this way. It is a recognition the US is not just another country but unique in the world with a special mission.

  • The Importance of the Sabbath

    פרשת שלח / כ”ה בסיון תשפ”ב

    This week’s portion includes the admonition about idolatry. This is no accident. Idolatry is trying to make God human. Our goal should be to be Godly. It includes the Sabbath desecrater. Violating the Sabbath is denying that God created the universe.

  • Facts, Not Opinions

    פרשת שלח / כ”ד בסיון תשפ”ב

    The problem with the men that Moses sent out to scout the land was that they let their egos get in the way. They had a preconceived notion and bent the facts to their opinions. A true spy is unknown to all and presents the facts as they are, not what they want them to be.

  • God Wants You to Earn You Reward

    פרשת שלח / כ”ב בסיון תשפ”ב

    The reason that the Jews were upset with the report of the scouts was that it meant that when they would enter the Land of Israel, they would have to put into practice all the laws that they were learning in the wilderness.

  • Know When to Leave

    פרשת שלח / כ”א בסיון תשפ”ב

    In this week’s portion we watch as Moses chooses the wrong people to scout out the Land. The problem with the men chosen was that they had a vested interest in staying in the wilderness. That they did not want to lose their position of leadership. Sometimes a leader has to recognize when it is time to leave.

  • Apprenticeship of the Levites

    פרשת בהעלותך / י”ז בסיון תשפ”ב

    In this week’s portion we learn that the Levites had a 5-year apprenticeship for their work in the Temple. Why did it take so long for them to learn their job? More important than learning the workings of the Temple, they had to learn how to behave in the Temple.

  • Becoming Better Not Perfect

    פרשת בהעלותך / ט”ז בסיון תשפ”ב

    The Torah wants us to make ourselves better. Perfection is a state that we will never attain and the attempt to attain it will end in failure. But if we work to improve ourselves, we will become better people and thus improve the world.