Archive for the 'Citizenship' Category
Freedom Means Responsibility
Monday, January 23rd, 2023A free person has to be responsible with his time. A slave does not. That is the reason that the first commandment is declaring the new month. The Jews were being freed for a purpose. Share on Facebook
You Need a Good Spokesman
Friday, January 20th, 2023Aaron had remained in Egypt while Moses was in Midian. For that reason, Aaron was better suited to speak the Jews. He felt the pain that they felt. Share on Facebook
The Reason for Freedom
Tuesday, January 17th, 2023Getting the Jews out of Egypt was easy job. The hard job was to make the Jews into a nation. Share on Facebook
Own Up to Your Actions
Friday, October 21st, 2022פרשת בראשית / כ”ו בתשרי תשפ”ג The reason for the punishment of Adam & Eve was not that they had violated God’s one commandment. It was that they denied culpability. Share on Facebook
Our Leaders Are Not Gods
Tuesday, September 20th, 2022פרשת ניצבים / כ”ד באלול תשפ”ב The admonition not be like the idol worshipers of Egypt was to stress that our leaders are not like the Pharoah. He was considered to be a god. Our leaders are human and should be treated as such. Share on Facebook
Make the World Better by Being Better
Friday, September 16th, 2022פרשת כי תבוא / כ’ באלול תשפ”ב We are commanded to be better people. The Torah does not care about our feelings but about our behavior. We make the world a better place by our actions, not our intent. Share on Facebook
Actions Over Beliefs
Wednesday, September 14th, 2022פרשת כי תבוא / י”ח באלול תשפ”ב There is a debate which is more important: Doing the commandments or being spiritual. The Jerusalem Talmud addressed this debate in the 3rd Century CE and concludes that your actions are more important than your beliefs therefore we should follow the commandments even if we do not believe […]
Don’t Be Average
Sunday, September 11th, 2022פרשת כי תבוא / ט”ו באלול תשפ”ב In the curses that we receive if we do not follow the Torah is that we will become an average people. While there is nothing wrong with being average it is not a great accomplishment either. The Torah wants us to be above average in our moral and […]
The Danger of Cheating in Business
Friday, September 9th, 2022פרשת כי תצא / י”ג באלול תשפ”ב The admonition of having accurate weights & measures is a warning against dishonest business practices. It is immediately followed by a warning about Amelek. The two are related. Amelek is looking for weakness in society. This is brought on by being dishonest and causing dissention in society. Share […]
Do Not Shame Your Brother
Thursday, September 8th, 2022פרשת כי תצא / י”ב באלול תשפ”ב We are admonished not to let the body of a person convicted of a capital offense hang overnight. This is so the family will not be shamed. It is assumed that the family is embarrassed by the actions of the criminal. We don’t have to rub in. Share […]
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