Why Today’s Leaders Fail: Va’etchanan

elected politicians mostly dictate to their populace. ideological driven politicians take their time in office to engage in radical totalitarianism. with either of these “do it because i said so” is often heard. in the most shocking moment, one politician admitted “congress “[has] to pass the bill so you can find out what’s in it.”Continue reading “Why Today’s Leaders Fail: Va’etchanan”

Why Do We Compare? Chukat-Balak

apples to oranges? are two seminal events within torah portion chukat-balak connected? we are often told that moses was barred from entering the promised land as as result of him defiantly striking a rock to deliver water to the children of israel. is this a message from chukak-balak? in this same portion, we are toldContinue reading “Why Do We Compare? Chukat-Balak”

The Most Important Word; Shlach

one word in the english language terrifies most individuals- accountability. acceptance of failure, fret over more labor to be done, and the feeling of being trapped are among the emotions that cause us to wake up in a pool of sweat. these emotions come with accountability. the shlach torah portion takes us to an existentialContinue reading “The Most Important Word; Shlach”

Kushner’s Book Was Not A Disappointment: A Ten Commandments’ Tale

comedy great mel brooks made a movie entitled “life stinks”. if author harold kushner made a movie, perhaps he would entitle it “life stinks, get over it.” rabbi kushner’s “overcoming life’s disappointments”, in my opinion, is superior to his #1 bestseller “why bad things happen to good people”. in “overcoming life’s disappointments”, moses’ life isContinue reading “Kushner’s Book Was Not A Disappointment: A Ten Commandments’ Tale”

The Moses Accords? A Ten Commandments’ Tale

from all appearances, the abraham accords have been a success. arab nations and israel have been able to work, cooperate and build a flourishing middle east. sharing abraham’s values which include monotheism and hospitality leads to truth. while islam and judaism are different religions, two tid-bits are revealing. muslim’s practicing halal, not able to getContinue reading “The Moses Accords? A Ten Commandments’ Tale”

Who Needs Doublets When There Are Triplicates: A Ten Commandments’ Tale

the torah studied as literature risks the danger of missing the big picture. noah’s story is proof. a prestigious college’s lecture on noah, which i took in, focused on the argument that torah contains two flood stories. this ties in with the greater theory of that there are multiple authors of the torah. while thereContinue reading “Who Needs Doublets When There Are Triplicates: A Ten Commandments’ Tale”

Moses The Seeker? A Ten Commandments’ Tale

the torah is taught to children through story books. these stories often are not the word for word depictions of the torah. rather, they are an interpretation. they are edited with respect to adult topics, i.e. lot’s offering of his daughter to the city’s residents in lieu of the strangers, and include non-textual sources. storiesContinue reading “Moses The Seeker? A Ten Commandments’ Tale”

The Littlest Exodus? A Ten Commandments’ Tale

“You are never given an obstacle you cannot overcome.” reb nachman ukraine was home to reb nachman. he was the founder of the breslov chasidic movement. the reb’s words about obstacles were relevant to mr. ben-harush’s daunting task. for two babies born in the middle of the ukranian -russian conflict, perhaps the reb’s words willContinue reading “The Littlest Exodus? A Ten Commandments’ Tale”

Breaker Breaker Moses, That’s A 10-4! A Ten Commandments’ Tale

Cause we got a great big convoyRockin’ through the nightYeah, we got a great big convoyAin’t she a beautiful sight?Come on and join our convoyAin’t nothin’ gonna get in our wayWe gonna roll this truckin’ convoy‘Cross the USA cw mccall the great cw mccall perhaps is doing a re-write of his hit song “convoy.” aContinue reading “Breaker Breaker Moses, That’s A 10-4! A Ten Commandments’ Tale”

There Is An Eleventh Commandment: A Ten Commandments’ Tale

And you shall teach them to your sons to speak with them deuteronomy 11:19 there is an eleventh commandment. there always was and there always will be and there is proof. a dennis prager’s fireside chat, #223, was an epiphany. ordinarily, i make it a point to avoid listening to commentators on a regular basisContinue reading “There Is An Eleventh Commandment: A Ten Commandments’ Tale”