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.
Category: Justice
-
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.
-
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.
-
Believe in God & Yourself
פרשת דברים / ה’ באב תשפ”ב
The sin of the spies is recounted in this week’s portion. The real sin that they committed was twofold. The lacked faith in God being able to help them in conquering the Land of Israel and they lacked faith in themselves.
-
Be Just in Your Judgements
פרשת דברים / ד’ באב תשפ”ב
The commandment to appoint judges is one of the most important for a just society. Moses commands the judges that they have to be just in their decisions. They cannot favor one party over the other, neither rich nor poor, neither the powerful nor the powerless,
-
To Stand Up to Evil
פרשת מטות-מסעי / כ”ז תמוז תשפ”ב
After the initial retaliation against Midian Moses reprimands the Jewish officers for allowing the women to live. To understand this, we have to remember that the women were willing participants in the sins committed by the Jewish men that led to the war. That is why they had to be punished like the men.
-
Why We Fight
פרשת מטות-מסעי / כ”ו בתמוז תשפ”ב
The reason that the Jews were commanded to destroy Midian was because Midian had declared war on God and morality. Personal insults are one thing. Insulting God and morality are another.
-
To Get to a City of Refuge
פרשת מטות-מסעי / כ”ה בתמוז תשפ”ב
When going to Jerusalem there were no directional signs. We want people to stop and ask directions. When going to a city of Refuge there were directional signs. We know that the person running to them is in a hurry and cannot wait.
-
Leadership Decision Making
פרשת פנחס / כ”ג בתמוז תשפ”ב
When the daughters of Zelaphad approached Moses about their inheritance rights he asked them to wait for an answer. He knew that the decision would be the basis of decisions for the future. In the case of Pinchas he could not wait, he had to take action immediately to prevent a clear and present danger. A true leader has to realize what is an emergency and what is not.