ב"ה
Matot-Massei 5769 - July 17, 2009
Judaism
G‑d in High School
To place Torah in one world and "secular" learning in another borders on having more than one G‑d. Rather, all knowledge should have the same purpose: to further our awareness of the one Creator of All Things
To place Torah in one world and "secular" learning in another borders on having more than one G‑d. Rather, all knowledge should have the same purpose: to further our awareness of the one Creator of All Things
Are We Supposed to be Afraid of G‑d?
The difference between love and respect is that when I love, I am preoccupied with my feelings toward you; when I respect, I am focusing on your presence rather than mine . . .
The difference between love and respect is that when I love, I am preoccupied with my feelings toward you; when I respect, I am focusing on your presence rather than mine . . .
Questions from a Feminist
Isms are the creation of the Hegelian mind, which is compelled to pigeonhole all human thought into theses and antitheses and their tidy resolution—a cute paradigm that tells us a lot about academia, and almost nothing about Jews and Jewish thought.
Isms are the creation of the Hegelian mind, which is compelled to pigeonhole all human thought into theses and antitheses and their tidy resolution—a cute paradigm that tells us a lot about academia, and almost nothing about Jews and Jewish thought.
Seasons
The Pinch
Hydraulic power plants, rockets and garden hoses all use it to squeeze a greater degree of power from the element they constrain
Hydraulic power plants, rockets and garden hoses all use it to squeeze a greater degree of power from the element they constrain
Living
Confessions of a Lazy Millionaire
People can organize their budgets any way they want, but I personally ascribe to the accounting theory that a penny saved is a penny earned. Obviously a return counts as profit, but so does a purchase never made.
People can organize their budgets any way they want, but I personally ascribe to the accounting theory that a penny saved is a penny earned. Obviously a return counts as profit, but so does a purchase never made.
No Criticism Please!
Criticism hurts. It hurts so much it can destroy any relationship. Yet, despite the cost of criticism, most spouses use this communication tool liberally. They think it's their "right" to honestly show their feelings...
Criticism hurts. It hurts so much it can destroy any relationship. Yet, despite the cost of criticism, most spouses use this communication tool liberally. They think it's their "right" to honestly show their feelings...
The Jewish Woman
The Story of Irena Sendler
Almost as soon as the Nazi occupation began, Irena began making forged documents for Jewish friends. She also offered food and shelter to the increasingly persecuted Jewish population. Then, in 1940, she witnessed the imprisonment of nearly 500,000 Jews in the Warsaw Ghetto . . .
Almost as soon as the Nazi occupation began, Irena began making forged documents for Jewish friends. She also offered food and shelter to the increasingly persecuted Jewish population. Then, in 1940, she witnessed the imprisonment of nearly 500,000 Jews in the Warsaw Ghetto . . .
The "O" Word
Besides the problem with the idea of labels in general, and the inappropriateness of the term "Orthodoxy" to a lifestyle that is itself a growth form, I have a very serious issue with the personal limits the term creates...
Besides the problem with the idea of labels in general, and the inappropriateness of the term "Orthodoxy" to a lifestyle that is itself a growth form, I have a very serious issue with the personal limits the term creates...
My Birth Plan
I listened, said goodbye, and then thought about it. Was I trying to control the situation because of my strong views and adamant stance towards natural childbirth?
I listened, said goodbye, and then thought about it. Was I trying to control the situation because of my strong views and adamant stance towards natural childbirth?
No Other Mother
When I close the door of my home, there is no other mother. To my children, I am the only mother in the world, the only mother they will ever know...
When I close the door of my home, there is no other mother. To my children, I am the only mother in the world, the only mother they will ever know...
Parshah
The Parshah in a Nutshell
Vengeance and war spoils, east and west of the Jordan, tribalism, havens for inadvertent murderers, the daughters of Tzelafchad and forty-two journeys.
Vengeance and war spoils, east and west of the Jordan, tribalism, havens for inadvertent murderers, the daughters of Tzelafchad and forty-two journeys.
A Timely Yahrtzeit
What is so remarkable about the timing of Aaron's yahrtzeit that it merits explicit mention in the Torah?
What is so remarkable about the timing of Aaron's yahrtzeit that it merits explicit mention in the Torah?
The First Day Of The Rest Of My Life
A smoker once told me that quitting was dead easy; he personally had stopped dozens of times...
A smoker once told me that quitting was dead easy; he personally had stopped dozens of times...
First Things First
The tribes had put sheep first, then children. But can it then be that that they actually loved their sheep more than their children?
The tribes had put sheep first, then children. But can it then be that that they actually loved their sheep more than their children?
The Eastern Colonists
Why the dramatic shift in Moses' view on the Jewish settlement of the eastern territories? If the Reubenites' and Gadites' petition initially struck him as reminiscent of the sin of the Spies, what convinced him to endorse their plan and even expand on it?
Why the dramatic shift in Moses' view on the Jewish settlement of the eastern territories? If the Reubenites' and Gadites' petition initially struck him as reminiscent of the sin of the Spies, what convinced him to endorse their plan and even expand on it?
They have forsaken Me, the fountain of living waters, to hew out cisterns for themselves, broken cisterns, that cannot hold water
— Jeremiah 2:13
Print Magazine
How to unmask a blessing in disguise:
Stare it in the face and say, “I know you are not just a lousy day or bad luck. I know you are a good friend—even if for the life of me I cannot determine how. I know there is only one Source of All Things, and nothing can convince me that evil descends from Above. Evil descends fr...
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