Sweet Simple Symphony
Saved from the Great Flood (the Mabul), Noah was moved to give thanks to G-d for sparing him and his family. Immediately upon leaving the Ark, he built an altar and brought offerings upon it. G-d was pleased with this, as it says, "And G-d smelled the pleasant smell...
Make Amends, Let’s Be Friends
Rabbi Zeira, the Talmud writes, had the following custom: when he was owed an apology by someone, he would go out to where they were, proceed past them, and then return (Yoma 87a). By walking past them, back and forth, he hoped to jog their memory of the incident, and...
Gone AWOL
Yom Kippur, The Day of Atonement, which is in just a few days, is the culmination of the Ten Days of Repentance that began with Rosh Hashanah. A significant portion of the lengthy prayers of Yom Kippur is devoted to Viduy — confession of misdeeds, which includes a...
The Long Distance Call
The verse says in Psalms [89:16], "Happy is the nation that knows the Teruah, the sound of the Shofar." Rav Tzvi E. Hertzberg zt"l asks, "why is it such a great thing to know the sound of a Shofar — and how does blowing a Shofar make G-d less angry and upset over all...
It’s All in Our Hands
An elderly man checked in to a small, quaint hotel, only to learn at the front desk that the single elevator was out of order. He asked a bellhop to bring his bags up to his room, implying that the tip would be worth the effort. It was ten minutes later before the...
COVID Blessings
When a farmer is hit by a drought, or a destructive flood, this causes collateral damage to the market that buys his produce, and that sells him supplies. A disruption in one area of the supply chain disrupts all the other links in the chain... or so we think. The...
Assisted Giving
If your neighbor's car won't start, there's a special Mitzvah (commandment) to give him (or her) a boost, call a mechanic, or do whatever it takes to get the car working again. "Do not ignore your brother if you see that his ox or donkey's load has fallen. Pick up the...
Our Little Secret
"Be pure with G-d (Lev. 18:13)" — this is a beautiful expression, as well as a verse in this week's Torah portion. While it describes a lofty spiritual ideal, what does it mean in a practical sense? We've all met kind people. It's probably true that the majority of...
The Guaranteed Road to Riches
"If I were a rich man..." Would you like to become wealthy? The Torah offers a tried and tested, universally successful road to riches, and it is found in this week's reading. The Children of Israel are commanded to tithe their produce: "You shall surely tithe all the...
Loving Our Land
This week's Torah reading includes the second paragraph of the Shema, recited in our morning and evening prayers. This paragraph talks about reward and punishment, and how they are tied to our homeland, the Land of Israel: "And if you will surely listen to my...
Love Beyond Limits
"I recall the kindness of your youth, the love between us when you were a bride. Your following me into the desert, a land that was not planted (Jeremiah 2:3)." One would expect to hear these words of endearment, found in this week's Haftorah reading, at a time of...
To Grasp Eternity
In this week's reading, HaShem tells Moshe that he will soon pass on, and to take Yehushua (Joshua) to be next leader of the Jewish nation. It is Yehoshua who will lead to the Children of Israel across the Jordan River into the Promised Land. Yehoshua was Moshe's...
