Category: Uncategorized

  • Equality Before the Law

    One of the main commandments of the Torah is the concept of equality in the law. A judge cannot consider the social status or wealth, or lack thereof, of the litigants before him. He has to adjudicate the law equally to all.

  • There is A Promised Future

    Tu B’Av is one of the happiest days of the Jewish calendar. It comes just 6 days after the 9th of Av, the saddest day of the Jewish year. The lesson is clear. There is a future, no matter what disaster befalls us we have a hopeful future.

  • The Importance of All the Commandments

    The name of this week’s portion is Eikev, or heel. This is remind us to be as careful of the “minor” commandments as we would the “major” ones.

  • We Are All Born Equal

    The 10th Commandment stresses that we not be jealous of others. The Torah is for equality of opportunity but not of outcome. That is dependent on our abilities and willingness to use them to improve ourselves.

  • Be A Light Unto The Nations

    When Moses discusses the boundaries of the Land we realize that the Jews would be in the middle of the world. This is because God’s plan is that the world is to observe how be a holy nation.

  • Taking God’s Name in Vain

    Taking God’s Name in vain can have a number of meanings. One of the most important is when a religious person commits a crime. Then the secular view it as “this is what a religious person does.” That is taking God’s Name in vain.

  • The Meaning of the 9th of Av

    Today is the 9th of Av. It is a day in which many disasters have befallen the Jewish people. The reason is that God chose us to be a light unto the nations & when we forget this then God withdraws His protection from us.

  • The 9th of Av and the Cities of Refuge

    The problem with an accidental killing is that someone died. That this comes during the week of the 9th of Av teaches us that we have to be careful with how we react to commandments of man to man.

  • The Reason For Our Woes

    The ancients believed if they lost a war it was because their gods were weak. The Jews took the exact opposite view. We lost wars because we did not behave properly one to the other, that it was a punishment from God.

  • Justice Must Be Pure

    The Torah admonishes judges numerous times about being careful in judgement. That they cannot be concerned over the social or economic status of those before them pervert their judgement. They can only deal with the law.