ב"ה

Purim 5769 - March 10, 2009

Living
“What’s a Jew, Mama?”

Every day brought new torment. Katya sat at her desk in the classroom, alone, isolated and shunned. She never cried, though. She didn’t cry when they chased her, or threw stones at her, or struck her with their backpacks.
Two Stages in Marriage

In the pre-marital phase we are focused on "what am I getting." In the post-marital state our focus shifts from to "what am I giving."
Getting Kids to Help More

The two most relevant concepts in getting kids to help out are establishing family routines and consequences.
Parshah
The Parshah in a Nutshell
The Jews are counted, instructions are given for the remaining holy vessels, and two architects are chosen to direct the Tabernacle’s construction. When Moses doesn’t return on time, the people create and worship a golden calf. Moses breaks the two tablets, returns to heaven, and descends with two new tablets.
The Best Kept Secret in the World

Strip life of its false starts, of its missed opportunities, naive presumptions, fumbling first attempts and learned-it-the hard-way experiences, and what's left? Nothing worth writing home about, let alone going through all that trouble to live a life...
Two Equal Tablets

What is the primary concern of the religious person -- man-to-man relations or a focus on the Divine?
True Mercy

Why is "an abundance of truth" considered one of the attributes of mercy? Truth is a severe and honest judge, unwilling to overlook misdeeds and transgressions...
Priceless National Treasures

Is there ever a good reason to destroy a national treasure? A trip to the National Archives got me thinking about this subject...
The Calf’s Mother

King Solomon was baffled; Moses turned pale. Indeed, only the most incomprehensible of Divine decrees—the law of the red heifer—can act as an antidote for the most incomprehensible of human experiences—the phenomenon of death.
The Jewish Woman
In Disguise

Before this, I was the kind of person who never lied. I felt that honesty was truth and that I needed to engage in truth, at all costs.I have greater insight now about the issue of concealment . . .
Holidays
Miracles Masked

Strange is it not? A book of the Bible and not even one explicit reference to G‑d? Why is that? Perhaps we can answer this question with another question....
What is the Secret of our People's Survival?

No manner of assimilationism provides an escape from the Hamans and Hitlers; nor can any Jew sever his ties with his people by attempting such an escape.
Esther's Story

Originally, there were two different conceptions of how the miracle of Purim should be commemorated, propagated by the two heroes and founders of Purim, Mordechai and Esther
But Mordechai would not kneel or bow
— Esther 3:2
Print Magazine

All of Jewish philosophy is but an attempt to fit inside the human mind that which is contained within the heart of a simple Jew.

It will never fit.

But you must learn, contemplate, and ponder with your mind, nevertheless. Perhaps, once aware of its inadequacy, your mind will awaken the heart from its slumber.

Hayo...
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