Stretching Our Muscles
Exercise more! That two-word synopsis of what the doctor told me is probably familiar to many readers. What differs from patient to patient is which muscles and bones need the exercise, but by a certain age most of us are told to work on something or other to stay...
Return on Investment
In the Haggadah, we recount the Ten Plagues that G-d inflicted upon the Egyptians. The Toldos Adam quotes the Medrash which says that these plagues, like all of G-d's rewards and punishments, were done "measure for measure." The Egyptians made the Israelites carry...
We Can Choose Our Direction
Having discussed whether animals are pure or impure, whether they are kosher to eat or not, the Torah now turns to discuss the purity and impurity of human beings. Yet there is a fundamental difference between the purity or impurity of man vs. animal. An animal is...
The Sign Has it Wrong
A friend took the attached photo at the enclosure for the collared peccary, a species native to Central and South America (as you can see on the map), in the Jerusalem Zoo. In red letters and in three languages, the sign declares: the peccary is not a pig!! There's...
Challenging the Obvious
Sometimes things can appear to be very obvious, yet the truth is just the opposite. Without looking deeper and turning to wise counsel, we could make a terrible mistake. Reality may be the opposite of what we perceive!
Without Credit
In this week's Torah reading, we begin the book of Leviticus, with the word "VaYikra", "And He called." G-d called out to Moshe, as He did every time He wanted to speak to Moshe or give a new Commandment. Rabbi Shlomo Yitzchaki (Rashi) tells us that this was a term of...
