I am a Jewish man. I was born a Jew, from Jewish parents of Russian descent. I was raised in a Reform Jewish environment, and since neither of my parents ever really embraced being Jewish, my B’rit Milah (circumcision) and Bar Mitzvah were as much a “This is what we do”
Never let it be said I ain’t got the guts to talk about high profile topics. The real issue, the one that is at the very heart of abortion (if you can use the word “heart” when talking about abortion), is not so much a woman’s right to decide what
One of the best known stories of the Bible is in this parashah- the selling of the birthright. Or, as some describe it, Jacob steals Esau’s birthright and blessing. We all know the story: Esau, Mr. Right-This-Minute-Who-Cares-About-Tomorrow , comes in from the field after a hard day, sees Jacob with
When the Talmudim (Disciples/students) of Yeshua asked Him how they should pray, well….we all know His answer. But do we think about the line that goes, “Give us this day our daily bread…”? Do we think about what He might have meant by that? Not the P’shat, which means the written
‘Tis the season for giving. In Acts (20:35) we are told that Yeshua said it is better to give than to receive, and we also are told in 2 Corinthians (9:6-7) that God loves a cheerful giver. So, it is pretty clear that we should give generously and cheerfully when we
The end of the beginning, and the beginning of the promise happen in this Parashah. Abraham and Sarah, the beginning of the Jewish faith, both die in this parashah, and between the passing of Sarah and Abraham, Isaac is married to Rivkah (Rebekah) and it is through his progeny that
Intelligence Quotient- that is what IQ means. The test given to assess the intelligence of a person is supposed to measure not just what they know but also their ability to learn. It is essentially your mental age divided by your chronological age, and measures not just what you know,
Let’s start by remembering who it is I am going to talk about: it’s God. The one and only, the Lord of lords and King of kings, the Everlasting, the One who created everything and everyone. He never slumbers nor does He ever sleep, He remembers, He knows, He is
There are two famous stories of the bible in here- the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, and the binding of Isaac, called the Akedah (also the traditional reading for Rosh Hashanah services.) How often I hear myself saying (or, more correctly, see myself writing), “There is just SO much in
Geeze, I hope so! Otherwise, I am in BIG trouble!! Frankly, so are you. Anyone, and everyone, is a sinner. Whether they commit murder, rob, lie, or just eat ham on Shabbat, they (and we) all are sinners. Adam sinned, Eve sinned, Cain sinned, Nimrod sinned, Enoch (well, maybe not