Category: Uncategorized

  • Injustice is Idolatry

    The Torah keeps admonishing us to do justice. The difference between the Toah concept and that of idolatry is that the Torah makes no distinction over the economic or social status of the litigants. All are equal before the law.

  • There Is No Hebrew Word For Slavery

    There is no Hebrew word for slave. The concept was that we have servants, not slaves. A Jewish “slave” has rights, that a slave in a non-Torah society did not have. It is not an accident that the anti-slavery movement was a religious one.

  • It’s God’s Law, Not Man’s

    The Torah admonishes us not to add or subtract from the commandments. This is so we do not go crazy and add things and make our lives miserable. & When we subtract we are not following what God wants us to do.

  • Remember Where We’ve Been

    Moses keeps repeating the holidays throughout the Book of Deuteronomy. It is so that we remember that we are on a mission. Once we forget that we lose our reason for being a people.

  • Beware of False Prophets

    The problem with false prophets is that what they say sounds good, but it will lead people astray. This is a warning to all generations since we have false prophets today.

  • Don’t Be Like The Idolators

    We can understand the abhorrence of the Torah to the customs of the non-Jews in the land when we see how they worshiped their gods. Especially child sacrifice, an anathema to the Torah.

  • The Curses Are Of Our Own Making

    The curses that Moses talks about are what will happen if the Jewish people do not keep the commandments in the Land. They will end up like any other nation and will, in the end become a footnote in history.

  • If You Can Keep It

    We are constantly made aware that our tenure in the land is dependent on what kind of society we create and keep. Many empires have been defeated because they crumbled from within before their enemies toppled them.

  • Keep Your Eyes On The Prize

    Moses extols the virtues of the Land of Israel to remind the Jews how fortunate they are. But he also reminds them that their stay in the Land is dependent on their keeping the commandments.

  • We Are Not A Normal Nation

    If we read the 2md paragraph of the Shma carefully we discover that God does not want us to be “normal” nation. We should be God centered. If we were to become “normal” then we’ll end up like many others and disappear.