Parshah Columnists

Weekly Sermonette
Choose Life Do we really need the Torah to tell us to “choose life”? Which person of sound mind would choose death? By Yossy Goldman 8 Comments		Conviction or Compromise? By standing firmly by our principles and convictions we can move forward in life. By Yossy Goldman 2 Comments
“Clean Up and Carry On!” Is living as a committed Jew difficult to you? Here's the answer from this week’s Torah portion. By Yossy Goldman 6 Comments
For Friday Night
Healthy Dynamic Dynamism, movement, progress, discovery and change... Or should it be strength, security, consolidation...? By Tali Loewenthal 1 Comment		Creating Bridges By Tali Loewenthal 2 Comments
The Second Level of Choice Other people may not understand this. Apparently well-meaning and reasonable people might advise their Jewish friend: “Why bother? Take the easy way out.” By Tali Loewenthal
Weekly Torah
Standing Firm By Mordechai Wollenberg		The Goers
Inner Stream
Genuine Growth Moving around prevents us from laying down roots and building on previous successes. Staying in one place can result in missed opportunities. How do we balance these two important but contradictory considerations? By Lazer Gurkow 3 Comments		Students or Contributors? The link to heaven seemed to pass away with Moses; from here on, the people would have to rely on their own analyses . . . By Lazer Gurkow
Parshah Messages
While We're in Exile, Where's G-d? Though exile is a time when G-d’s presence in our lives isn’t manifest as it was—and will soon again be—during the Holy Temple glory days, it by no means signals a hiatus in our relationship with Him. By Naftali Silberberg 6 Comments		The Song that Testifies What is the unique bond shared by the Torah and the Jew? They both are keenly aware that there is a deeper calling... By Naftali Silberberg 1 Comment
Living through the Parshah
Accessing the Hidden Love Why was the Tanya so novel? Who was the Rebbe's target audience and what was his objective for them? Looking no further than the Tanya's title page we read the Rebbe's self-stated mission statement spelled out lucidly. By Rochel Holzkenner 9 Comments
Parshah Musings
Prison Break By Elisha Greenbaum		Who Let the Kids In? Adults are hit-and-miss: they might be inspired for a while, but their excitement often dissipates just as quickly. When a child buys into something, however, that commitment can last a lifetime. By Elisha Greenbaum 18 Comments
Are We Just Running Around in Circles? How quickly the year flies by! By Elisha Greenbaum
What the Rebbe Taught Me
History or Memory? There’s no such thing as history in Judaism. The last message that Moses imparted to his people demonstrates this point. By Mendel Kalmenson 6 Comments
What Do You Think?
What to Do on Your 120th Birthday Let's imagine that you would be celebrating your 120th birthday today, with your body in full function. What would you do? By Levi Avtzon 5 Comments
Parshah Recovery
Unity Is Our Strength Every individual possesses some unique advantage over every other. Each member of the nation has some positive quality that is unique to him or her. Every individual is uniquely needed and indispensable. By Rabbi Ben A. 2 Comments		Never-Ending Progress When we were humiliated and dejected, we accepted that we would have to change ourselves. But when life starts to return to normalcy, we lose the sense of urgency we so keenly felt at first... By Rabbi Ben A.
More Parshah Articles
The Free Will Problem in Judaism The Paradox of Choice and Divine Omniscience The classical questions, the theological contradictions, the Kabbalistic foundations, the Chassidic interpretations... Insights, essays and stories on "Freedom of Choice" 12 Comments		Moshiach: An Anthology Where are we headed? What is the Jewish interpretation of history? Twenty-eight articles and dozens of source texts on the why, how, who, when and what of Moshiach and the future redemption. 2 Comments
In the Search for Meaning, Where Do We Look? Many of us have an inner ache, a discontented restlessness, without knowing why. By Hanna Perlberger 18 Comments		How Valuable Is It To Live As If Every Day Were Your Last? Instead of pretending that today were the last day of your life, what if you were to realize, instead, that it’s the first day of the rest of your life? By Hanna Perlberger 16 Comments
Speeches to Say at a Bar Mitzvah: Nitzavim By Moshe Bogomilsky		Speeches to Say at a Bar Mitzvah: Vayeilech By Moshe Bogomilsky
Covenant & Conversation
The Torah as G-d's Song To make the Torah live anew, it is not enough to hand it on cognitively – as mere history and law. It must speak to us affectively, emotionally. By Rabbi Jonathan Sacks 11 Comments		Defeating Death What is missing from the Torah, almost inexplicably so given the background against which it is set, is a fixation with death. By Rabbi Jonathan Sacks 2 Comments
Why Be Jewish? A bat or bar mitzvah is not a “confirmation.” It involves no voluntary acceptance of Jewish identity. That choice took place more than three thousand years ago. By Rabbi Jonathan Sacks 29 Comments
Beyond Speech
On the Haftarah: G‑d Is Carrying Us For the haftarah of Nitzavim, From the Teachings of the Rebbe By Yitzi Hurwitz 1 Comment		Nitzavim and Rosh Hashanah: The Connection This week's Torah portion, Nitzavim, is always read on the Shabbat before Rosh Hashanah. There are so many things about this portion that connect to Rosh Hashanah. By Yitzi Hurwitz 1 Comment
The Key to Blessing Is Humility and Respect By Yitzi Hurwitz		What I Would Say If I Could Speak . . . A Hakhel message from a rabbi with ALS By Yitzi Hurwitz 24 Comments
Standing Still, Getting Closer By Yitzi Hurwitz
Life's Passages
You’ve Got a Hidden Treasure Nitzavim Deep within each one of us lies enormous strength and a rich reservoir of wealth waiting to be cashed in—and even we may not be aware of it. By Chana Weisberg 1 Comment
The Freeman Files
The Last Two Mitzvahs Why were we given the command to gather every seven years right when Moses was about to pass away? By Tzvi Freeman 1 Comment