“Chosen” People? Tolerated, Perhaps. (Ha’azinu: Deuteronomy 32: 19-28)
Ha’azinu has put the term, “Chosen People” into a new perspective for me. And I can’t say that I like it. In my previous post, I wrote about the power of choice and the...
Category: Random Reflections
Power of choice (Ha’azinu: Deuteronomy 32: 19-28)
After having escaped from Egypt, we Jews faced a number of critical points at which our collective decisionmaking skills were challenged. Perhaps the most dramatic example was at Mount Sinai when the persistence of...
Joseph’s Brothers Prostrated Themselves – Are We? (Bereshit 42:1-7)
I grew up believing that Jews bow down only to the One God, our Creator, and never to another human being. The Purim story tells us that Mordechai refused to bow to Haman, an...
Ritual Washing, Mindfulness, and New Beginnings (Exodus 30:17-21)
In this verse, part of the parasha called Ki Tisa, Moses is commanded to make a brass pedestal and washing tub in which to place the water with which Aharon, his sons, and their...
What Has Deuteronomy Got to Do with Bullies on Facebook? (Deuteronomy 19:15-21)
The Torah verse in Deuteronomy, discussing false witness, may be particularly relevant to us now in the modern virtual era when bullies can tell lies that spread farther and faster than the most virile...
Is Our Only Hope Via a Strong Arm Policy? (Exodus 13:17-14:31)
The Pharoah finally let the Israelites leave, and there was a short way to Israel and a long way. The short way was through the land of the Philistines (Pelesht), an area currently known...
First Inspiration – Deuteronomy 33-34: Understanding Being the Parent of Adult Children
Moses climbed Mount Nevo, from which point he could watch as the Israelites crossed the Jordan River into the Promised Land. He blessed each of the tribes of Israel, het Moses was forbidden by...
About This Blog
At one time I had a Shabbat ritual – opening the Torah to some random page and reading from the top of the page until I felt an idea had “completed” itself. I may...
