Archive for the 'Culture' Category
A God-Fearing Society
Thursday, August 11th, 2022פרשת ואתחנן – י”ד באב תשפ”ב Moses stresses that what we consider civil laws are really religiously basted law. That if the basis of law in a society is not God then the laws will break down and the results will be a dictatorship or anarchy, as we see from the difference in the results […]
What is Idolatry?
Wednesday, August 10th, 2022פרשת ואתחנן / י”ג באב תשפ”ב The first three Commandments are tied together. They warn that God is the supreme being and anything else is idolatry. A that even religion can become an idol. Share on Facebook
Covetness is the Root of Evil
Tuesday, August 9th, 2022פרשת 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 […]
The Second Version of the Ten Commandments
Monday, August 8th, 2022פרשת 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 […]
Why The Temple was Destroyed
Friday, August 5th, 2022פרשת דברים / ח’ באב תשפ”ב The Talmud states that the Temple was destroyed because the Jews kept the letter of the law. This is understood that they were more worried about the minutia of the law and forgot about the spirit that the law was to imbue. Share on Facebook
The 10 Martyrs & the Sale of Joseph
Thursday, August 4th, 2022פרשת דברים / ז’ באב תשפ”ב On the 9thof Av we recall the story of the 10 rabbis murdered by the Romans. The reason that the Romans give for why they murdered the 10 rabbis is the sale of Joseph by the brothers. What is interesting is that this was a sin of man against […]
The Reason for the 9th of Av
Wednesday, August 3rd, 2022פרשת דברים / ו’ באב תשפ”ב When we look at the literature of the 9th of Av, we notice that the Romans and Babylonians are barely mentioned. The real reason for the disaster is placed on the bad moral and ethical behavior of the Jews. Share on Facebook
Believe in God & Yourself
Tuesday, August 2nd, 2022פרשת 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. Share on Facebook
Be Just in Your Judgements
Monday, August 1st, 2022פרשת 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, Share on Facebook
From Theory to Reality
Sunday, July 31st, 2022פרשת דברים / ג’ באב תשפ”ב As we begin the Book of Deuteronomy, we see that Moses goes over those commandments that the Jews will have to carry out once they arrive in the Land of Israel. Up until now these commandments were taught in theory. Now they will have to be carried out in […]
About the Author: Shlomo Bar-Ayal is an Israeli-American, or an American-Israeli (I could never get that right) who is unabashedly pro-Israel, pro-US and a great guy.
He has an open mind to opinions that he agrees with.
Besides blogging on whatever he feels like blogging about on any given day he enjoys learning Talmud, davening, being the candyman in his synagogue, smoking his tobacco pipe, giving tours at the Grand Lodge of New York, being involved in Freemasonry, and partaking in an adult beverage every now and then