Blog Archive
Every Jew Has Value
Wednesday, October 12th, 2022פרשת וזאת הברכה / א’ דחול המואד סוכות / י”ז בתשרי תשפ”ג The lesson of Sukkot is that every person has value, no matter how high or low that person may be. We all equal in God’s eye. Share on Facebook
Economics & Morality
Friday, October 7th, 2022פרשת האזינו / י”ב בתשרי תשפ”ג The Torah admonishes us to oppose foreign ideologies, meaning ideologies that negate morality based on the Torah. Share on Facebook
Seeking a Just Society
Friday, September 2nd, 2022פרשת 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. Share on Facebook
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
Why We Fight
Monday, July 25th, 2022פרשת 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. Share on Facebook
The Limits of Freedom
Friday, June 17th, 2022פרשת בהעלותך / י”ח בסיון תשפ”ב The Complainers are back again in this week’s portion. They will continue to plague Moses throughout the Exodus. The question is what they were really complaining about. The limits that the Torah places on us. That we cannot do whatever we want in society. Share on Facebook
We Need to be a God-Fearing Society
Thursday, May 26th, 2022פרשת בחוקותי – כ”ה באייר תשפ”ב – מ’ בעומר When a Jewish court was required to hand down a death sentence they would go out to the country and bemoan that breakdown in society. The idea that the crime did not happen in a vacuum. It happened because there is something wrong in society in […]
We are Our Curse
Sunday, May 22nd, 2022פרשת בחוקותי / כ”א באייר ץשפ”ב – ל”ו בעומר This week’s portion has the blessings and the curses. That if we follow the Torah then great things will occur but if we do not then disaster will happen. The interesting thing is that the curses will be caused by a breakdown in society. God does […]
Moral Leadership
Friday, May 13th, 2022פרשת אמור / י”ב באייר תשפ”ב – כ”ז בעומר The Torah starts the portion by detailing the physical & moral attributes of what we expect of the Priests. It ends with an admonition against desecrating God’s name. It is important to remember that when someone identifies as a religious person he represents God. His behavior […]
Economics & Holiness
Friday, May 6th, 2022פרשת קדושים – כ’ בעמר / ה’ באייר תשפ”ב In this week’s Portion we explore the Torah’s meaning of holiness. One of the interesting things is that the Torah stresses honesty in business. It ties this to loving your neighbor and that if one is dishonest the result will be sacrificing your children to the […]
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