Clik here to view.
Va'Yakhel - Creating a World
Bezalel was skilled in the combination of the letters by which the heavens and the earth were created.He could only stand in the shadowThat was his name,But the silhouette was sacred,Not in God’s...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Pekudei - The Beauty of Teshuvah
In the opening verse of the Torah reading the completed Sanctuary is referred to as a “mishkan edut”- the dwelling place of testimony. To what idea, object, event or other reality does this structure...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Vayikrah-An open invitation to all
“And He called, summoned Moses ...”(Leviticus 1:1)The book of Leviticus opens with an invitation-from God to Moses. Unlike the many other introductions to moments of communication where we read that...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Grateful for Purim-Why?
Purim is a controversial holiday.You might be surprised by this assertion given how much fun it is and how beloved a holiday it is , especially for children. After all, who but a curmudgeon would...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Shemini-THE ELDERLY:The Wings of Israel
The Wings of Israel"On the eighth day Moses called Aaron and his sons and the elders of Israel."(Lev.9:1)Midrash Rabah, 11:8, makes the following statement: “ Israel is compared to a bird; in the same...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Grateful for My Gratefulness Haggadah
Finally, after months of work that entailed not only interpretation of the text but making use of designing and formatting skills I never imagined I could use, the Gratefulness Haggadah - Dayenu - is...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Dayenu - a personal formulation
The following is a personal rendition of Dayenu that I inadvertently omitted from the Gratefulness Haggadah. I think that its simplicity and universality can add to the meaning of your Passover...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Metzora
Once again the reader is challenged to understand Torah content that is obscure, obsolete and entirely irrelevant to our time.How does one make sense of the ritual involving a metzora-מצורע- one who...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Grateful for A NJ bus driver
I am blessed with the convenience of having a bus stop alongside my apartment house building. Both departures and arrivals ease my life considerably. As an instructor in a city college, Touro College,...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Achare Mot-Inner Freedom- A Passover message
“You shall not copy the practices of the land of Egypt where you dwelt, or the land of Canaan to which I am taking you, nor shall you follow their laws; My rules alone shall you observe and faithfully...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Emor-Holiness: A Coperative Effort
The kohayn –the priest, is the subject of the first part of this parshah. One of the well-know halachic proscriptions has to do with the priest being forbidden to have contact with the dead, thus...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Grateful for a Mother's Day Card
It's the day after Mother's Day-perhaps the most wonderful expressions of a child's love for her mother is expressed in the child's own words-so when my daughter pours her feelings into her own words,...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Kedoshim-Grateful for fathers,mothers and the Sabbath Day
This Parasha is often considered one of the most morally significant sections of the Torah- at the heart of the many ethical injunctions beats the aspiration toward the Godly reality of holiness in the...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Grateful for a Bird's Nest
It was an early summer's day and we returned to our cabin in the country for a restful Shabbat. In typical pre-Shabbat fashion, we hurried as we deposited our things in closets, on tables , in the...
View ArticleClik here to view.
B'Har-B'Hukotai
These are the laws that God commanded Moses and Israel on Mount Sinai—A well-known question that emerges from this opening sentence is found in Rashi who asks: Ma inyan shemittah etzel har Sinai? Why...
View ArticleClik here to view.
B'chukotai
“If you follow My laws and faithfully observe My commandments....you shall eat your fill of bread and dwell securely in your land.”(Lev.26:3-5)This segment of the Torah ostensibly contains one of the...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Grateful for so much-reflections on 9/11
Unexpectedly, I found myself riveted to the television screen for 6 hours as the commemoration ceremony in honor of the victims of 9/11 unfolded. My wife sat beside me and for most of the time, we...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Grateful for America's Uniqueness-more reflections on 9/11
Three thousand names! The reading of the names of victims of 9/11 was the centerpiece of the commemoration on Sunday,9/11/11, ten years after that awful moment in our lives, a moment that changed the...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Vayetzei -Jacob's Deal with God-An act of gratitude?
Jacob leaves home to spend the next 20 years at the home of his Uncle Laban.At the beginning stage of his journey eastward, he encounters God's Presence in a dream assuring him of protection, a safe...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Where have I been!
Almost two months have elapsed since my last posting on gratefulness. Let me explain.I still have much for which to be grateful! I have been preoccupied in finalizing my work on the Passover...
View Article
