Monthly Archives: May 2016

(Just to clear, these thoughts came to me spontaneously while davening. I doubt if you’ll find any rabbinic sources–I haven’t looked because I’m not proposing the premise to be the case. I’m speaking rhetorically and, to emphasize, I do not … Continue reading →

Anything which we not merely occasionally mention, but repeat daily must be important, twice or thrice daily and it’s absolutely crucial. Pretty much buried in the discussion of the Ketoret, the twice-daily incense offering in the Temple (which we recite (or, as too … Continue reading →

Is Judaism merely just one of many “opiates of the people”, as Karl Marx infamously described religion? Even if we stipulate that it goes beyond merely offering succor to otherwise bleak lives, how far are we willing to go? Does it … Continue reading →

It’s curious that while Parshat Kedoshim mandates that the Jewish People be holy, Kedoshim Tihiyu, nowhere is “being holy” in itself listed as one of the 613 mitzvot. Rather, the parsha proceeds to list more than 50 (approximately 8-1/2% of the total) … Continue reading →

Israel never had a greater ally and supporter than Yitro, Moshe’s father-in-law, a ger tzedek, a righteous convert. Vayichad Yitro al kol hatovah asher asah Hashem l’Yisrael (Shemot 19:9), “And Yitro rejoiced at all the goodness that God performed for Israel”. … Continue reading →