SHORT ESSAY: You Matter! (Parashat Vayetze)
The Torah portrays a world in which God does care about a single person, no matter how messed up. (Click image to read more)
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Parsha
SHORT ESSAY: The Sun Rises Just For You (Parashat Vayishlach)
I was taking a walk the other day, feeling a little glum, when I noticed the ginkgo tree up the street. The sky was blue and the sun was shining on it just so, making its yellow leaves radiant and aglow. I stopped in wonder and thought, “Thank you, God, for this gift today.” I
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SHORT ESSAY: Rivka’s Love (Parashat Toldot)
The Torah says that Yitzhak loved Esav ki tzayid befiv, “because” of the hunting that Esav used to bring him to eat, while Rivka loved Yaakov. There is no reason attached to Rivka’s love; she simply loved him. The rabbis cite this love as an example of ahavah she’einah teluya badavar, a love that, unlike Yitzhak’s, is
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SHORT ESSAY: Undaunted (Parashat Eikev)
“Perhaps you will say in your heart: these nations are greater, more numerous, than I – how will I ever be able to drive them out (Deut. 7:17)?” Moshe understands that this is what the Israelites will feel at the prospect of the enormous task of conquering the land. The enemies, the obstacles, are too
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SHORT ESSAY: On Shabbat and Tisha B’Av (Parashat Devarim and Tisha B’Av)
This Shabbat is the ninth day of Av, and yet we do no mourning or fasting on it until the following day. There is a powerful message here. Tisha B’av speaks a certain kind of truth. It speaks the truth of judgment and sadness and suffering and destruction and disconnection and dislocation. And also the
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SHORT ESSAY: My Grandfather’s Inheritance (Parashat Pinchas)
In devoting my life to Torah, I consider that I am carrying on the legacy of my father and my grandfather. My father loved Rashi so much that he believed that he was given an extra four years of life in order to pursue more of his work on Rashi. My grandfather was shot in
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SHORT ESSAY: Redirecting Negative Energy (Parashat Balak)
Use the energy; don’t fight it or squash it. The energy may be manifesting in a negative form, but it can be turned to good. At first, God forbade Balaam from going to curse Israel. No, you stay home and don’t prophesy at all rather than use your talents to harm My people. But God
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SHORT ESSAY: No Matter How Low You Sink (Parashat Shemot)
Most resources are finite and can be used up. Not so God’s love for us. (Click image to read more)
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SHORT ESSAY: One Kind Act (Parashat Vayishlach)
One kind act can shift the course of history. In this week’s parsha, Yaakov hears that Esav is approaching with 400 men. Was Esav planning an aggressive attack? The Torah doesn’t tell us but Yaakov certainly thinks so. The possible destruction of the future Jewish people is headed off by what? By Yaakov’s overflowing generous
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SHORT ESSAY: Not Because We Deserve It (Parashat Eikev)
“If you are breathing, that is nature’s way of saying that you belong here. You are enough.” I saw this on a teacher website, something that a teacher said to his students every day as part of a breathing meditation. I would adjust that to: If you are breathing, that is God’s way of saying
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