Royal Treasures

Royal Treasures

One restless night, Benny, who was having trouble making a living, had a vivid dream. His dream showed him, in precise detail, the whereabouts of a stuffed backpack with two million dollars cash, at the bottom of a dumpster on the Virginia shore. He woke from his...
The Stick Factor

The Stick Factor

“How could you forget? You knew we arranged to meet for coffee at 1:30 today!” “Really — it just slipped my mind. I’m sorry. I just forgot.” “What do you mean you just forgot?” “I don’t know. My memory...
Life Between the Cracks

Life Between the Cracks

I was about 15 years old when I lost a Siddur (prayer book) on a backpacking trip near the summit of New Hampshire’s Mt. Washington, the highest peak in the Northeastern United States. It must have fallen out of my pocket at a pit-stop along the hike. After my...
Was It Me?

Was It Me?

We’re told in this week’s Torah portion that when a murder victim is discovered, the elders of the city closest to the site where the body was found gather and say “Our hands did not spill this blood, and we were not witness to it (Deut 21:7).”...
We’re No Abraham

We’re No Abraham

Is it easy to make a moral choice? Moshe, our teacher, tells us that it is, at least in principle: “See that I have placed before you today ‘blessing’ and ‘curse’. The blessing, if you will listen to the Commandments of HaShem your G-d...
Wisdom in the Skies

Wisdom in the Skies

In the Talmud, the Sages tell us to study the skies, or more specifically the calculations of the calendar: “says Rabbi Shmuel bar Nachmeini in the name of Rebbe Yochanon: from where do we know that it is a Mitzvah to calculate the seasons and the months? For it...