1310 essays
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Essays on the weekly Torah portion, the holidays and Jewish thought.
Parsha Lech Lecha – Driving Two Ways on a One Way Street Life seems to be taking us in so many, and often opposite directions. This can lead to confusion and despair. In truth, all directions that we travel revolve around and lead us to one overarching goal: We travel to Jerusalem to bring back its inspiration to our homes; to transform our lives into Jer Parsha Lech Lecha – Generation Gap Going against the grain and breaking out of one’s own cocoon is what made Abraham worthy of being the first Jew. LECHA LECHA Parsha Lech Lecha – Go for Yourself There are two brands of reward. The first is given s motivation. The second is a consequence of one’s actions. Reward demonstrates that good, naturally, begets good. LECHA LECHA Parsha Lech Lecha – Holy Shoe Laces Shoes are a protection from the earth. Shoelaces keep our shoes on. Some places are so corrupt that even the shoelaces are tainted and afford no protection. LECHA LECHA Parsha Lech Lecha – Lech Lecha and Bar/bas Mitzvah The underlying joy of a Bar or Bas Mitzvah is he or she has graduated from volunteering Judaism to accepting full responsibility. There is a world of difference between these two thrusts, with assuming responsibility to be superior. LECHA LECHA Parsha Lech Lecha – How to Be W.e.a.l.t.h.y and Happy Wealth, like poverty, is neither a virtue nor a vice. Although, like poverty, it can be either. Wealth can make a person happy only if its possessor conforms to six rules. LECHA LECHA Parsha Lech Lecha – Let Your Guard Down Entering into a space means more than a casual connection to it. When a child enters into the covenant it is life’s most powerful interaction with G-d. LECHA LECHA Parsha Lech Lecha – Looking for the Light in the Darkness Life can be an adventure with its many twists and turns. The sense of excitement is magnified when one realizes that the detours are part of a Master Plan that will, in the end, be appreciated. LECHA LECHA Parsha Lech Lecha – Pharoah Yes, Sodom No!? How do we know what is important? Frequently, it is measured by the degree of internal opposition we have to it. The more pressure we have to do something the more we have to consider whether it is positive. LECHA LECHA Parsha Lech Lecha – Star and Dust There are people of great achievement who are likened to the stars. And there are lowly people likened to the dust of the earth. Both are flawed. The stars are whole and a source of blessing when they behave with the humility of the dust. LECHA LECHA Parsha Lech Lecha – Staying in One Place Our lives require building solid foundations and then building magnificent structures on them. When we focus on the construction of the foundation, there is little movement; just singular concentration and focus. When we embark on erecting the edifice, we need to be creative, fluid and multifaceted, Parsha Lech Lecha – The First Jew Abraham = Self-Transcendence Jew must live a transcendent life in an ordinary and often corrupt world. LECHA LECHA Parsha Lech Lecha – The Inexorable Journey One of the tragedies of life is giving up on our life’s goals. Sometimes we give up right before realizing these goals. Abraham taught us to persevere. We are on the cusp of the Final Redemption. This is not a time to give up. LECHA LECHA Parsha Lech Lecha – The Last Laugh and the Laugh That Lasts The Messianic Age is an age of joy. Joy is serious business; it does not happen when we are passive. We must proactively engage in joy now as a way of preparing ourselves for the future. LECHA LECHA Parsha Lech Lecha – The Separation of Good and Evil “There is no evil without a little good in it.” This is true only until the Final Redemption, when evil will be totally separated from good, and eventually fade away. Our efforts at doing good since Adam and Eve have made that separation process occur. LECHA LECHA Parsha Lech Lecha – Two Levels of Change The most dramatic changes in our lives are the evolutionary, not the revolutionary changes. Revolutionary changes can be unsettling. The evolutionary changes are seamless and enable us to fully internalize them. LECHA LECHA Parsha Terumah – A House of Unity and Love The greatest challenge is not just unity and love. It is achieving unity within diversity. TERUMAH TERUMAH Parsha Terumah – A Tale of Two Vessels The Menorah, the symbol of Torah, with all of its decorations, had to be made of one piece of gold. Likewise, the way we embellish the Torah by discovering new meanings, must be of one piece with the Torah. They must come from within the Torah itself. TERUMAH TERUMAH Parsha Terumah – Adar: The Month of Transformation Life with joy is a complete life. Joy with Purim is an extraordinary life. TERUMAH TERUMAH Parsha Terumah – Constructing a Temple in One’s Heart G-d works with the system of reciprocation. When we had the Bais Hamikdash in Jerusalem it inspired us to create a Sanctuary in our own hearts. Conversely, when we create the internal Sanctuary, it generates the cosmic energy that facilitates the building of the Third Temple TERUMAH TERUMAH