ב"ה
Bereishit 5769 - October 24, 2008
Living
The Ultimate Seduction
I love the beginning of a relationship. It's a blast. I go out to exciting places and eat wonderful dinners.Then comes the boring stuff...
I love the beginning of a relationship. It's a blast. I go out to exciting places and eat wonderful dinners.Then comes the boring stuff...
Anger and Love—Do they Mix?
Love and anger cannot coexist together. Anger will always push away love. A person cannot ingest poison and then remain healthy; so, too, a person cannot receive anger and still feel loving toward the angry person.
Love and anger cannot coexist together. Anger will always push away love. A person cannot ingest poison and then remain healthy; so, too, a person cannot receive anger and still feel loving toward the angry person.
Ripple Effects
After Lawrence and Esther met only a few times, Lawrence proposed. Though Esther felt that this was her dream come true, she still felt she had to "sort things out."
After Lawrence and Esther met only a few times, Lawrence proposed. Though Esther felt that this was her dream come true, she still felt she had to "sort things out."
Parshah
The Parshah in a Nutshell
G‑d creates the world in six days and sanctifies the seventh. The serpent convinces Adam and Eve to eat from the Tree of Knowledge, and they are expelled from the Garden of Eden. Adam and Eve bear children, and Cain murders Abel.
G‑d creates the world in six days and sanctifies the seventh. The serpent convinces Adam and Eve to eat from the Tree of Knowledge, and they are expelled from the Garden of Eden. Adam and Eve bear children, and Cain murders Abel.
Did You Ask to Be Born?
What kind of "free choice" do we have, if we didn't choose to be presented with that choice?
What kind of "free choice" do we have, if we didn't choose to be presented with that choice?
The Heavens and the Earth
"In the beginning G-d created the heavens and the earth." To discover the mystical light hidden within these words, we will have to re-read them in a new way
"In the beginning G-d created the heavens and the earth." To discover the mystical light hidden within these words, we will have to re-read them in a new way
Something from Nothing
It is not easy to understand how a world view that leads nowhere and ultimately explains nothing became so rooted in the human psyche
It is not easy to understand how a world view that leads nowhere and ultimately explains nothing became so rooted in the human psyche
Woman and the Forbidden Fruit
The sin of the Tree of Knowledge is one of the most perplexing episodes in the Torah. Insight into the story sheds light on woman's unique qualities and role in the process of redemption
The sin of the Tree of Knowledge is one of the most perplexing episodes in the Torah. Insight into the story sheds light on woman's unique qualities and role in the process of redemption
The Jewish Woman
Transmuting Impatience
Since leaving the Garden of Eden, human impulse is an admixture of both good and evil. Our task is not to squelch the impulse but to mine it, by toning down the “mine” aspect.
Since leaving the Garden of Eden, human impulse is an admixture of both good and evil. Our task is not to squelch the impulse but to mine it, by toning down the “mine” aspect.
Chavah: Mother of All Life
The first woman, Chava, is called the "mother of all life" for she is the source of joy, experience and creation.
The first woman, Chava, is called the "mother of all life" for she is the source of joy, experience and creation.
The Ladies Club
"Mommy has to go to the ladies' club. She will only be there a little bit. We have to wait here because we are not ladies." Even at three, I shared his trait of quick-thinking and responded, "You are not a lady, but I am! You call me your 'little lady' all the time!" He smiled and laughed at both my wit and my innocence...
"Mommy has to go to the ladies' club. She will only be there a little bit. We have to wait here because we are not ladies." Even at three, I shared his trait of quick-thinking and responded, "You are not a lady, but I am! You call me your 'little lady' all the time!" He smiled and laughed at both my wit and my innocence...
Jewish News
S. Thomas’ Jews Celebrate ‘Sukkot Miracle’ of the Hurricane That Wasn’t
Radio stations throughout the U.S. Virgin Islands are talking about Divine intervention after Hurricane Omar abruptly shifted course and spared the island of S. Thomas.
Radio stations throughout the U.S. Virgin Islands are talking about Divine intervention after Hurricane Omar abruptly shifted course and spared the island of S. Thomas.
Holidays
Dancing with the Torah
On Simchat Torah, the Torah, too, wants to dance, so we become the Torah's dancing feet...
On Simchat Torah, the Torah, too, wants to dance, so we become the Torah's dancing feet...
Souls in the Rain
As in a marriage, when the wedding-party is over, the couple's true intimate life begins. Shemini Atzeret is described as the "time of intimacy with the Divine." At this time, we ask for rain - the symbol of intimacy between heaven and earth.
As in a marriage, when the wedding-party is over, the couple's true intimate life begins. Shemini Atzeret is described as the "time of intimacy with the Divine." At this time, we ask for rain - the symbol of intimacy between heaven and earth.
Torah in the Winter
Why do we celebrate our relationship with the Torah on Simchat Torah, and not on Shavuot, the day we received the Torah?
Why do we celebrate our relationship with the Torah on Simchat Torah, and not on Shavuot, the day we received the Torah?
"This Is My Torah Scroll"
The soldier stared at the boy, fighting back tears. "Over these four terrible years, this is the first live Jewish child I have seen..."
The soldier stared at the boy, fighting back tears. "Over these four terrible years, this is the first live Jewish child I have seen..."
And G‑d said: Let us make man in Our image, after Our likeness.
— Genesis 1:26
Print Magazine
Noah was a tzadik, a very great man. He saved the entire world. But he didn't approach Abraham's greatness.
When G‑d told Noah to build an ark before the world would be destroyed, Noah built an ark.
But when G‑d told Abraham He was about to destroy the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah—cities corrupt and evil to the core—...
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