Helen Keller said: “Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much.” Andrew Carnegie said: “Teamwork is the fuel that allows common people to attain uncommon results.” I think we can all agree with these statements. Both apply to today’s parshah. In parshah Terumah, God says to Moses,”They shall make for me […]
Self-doubt can be defined as a lack of confidence in oneself and one’s abilities. It could be about our thoughts, beliefs, emotions, opinions, decisions, and self-views, or any truth we hold in our minds. Researchers suggest that self-doubt specifically involves questioning our own competence.
In this week’s parshah, God tells Moses that he wants Moses to […]
The Talmud tells us that the seal of God is stamped with truth. One of the Ten Commandments is to not bear false witness, and there are prohibitions against being dishonest in business and generally misleading others. We tend to think that lying is bad and we advocate for honesty. Yet, if we are to […]
Rejection is something we all deal with at some time in our lives. An early example of rejection can be found in today’s parasha in the story of Cain and Abel. The two brothers gave their offerings to God. Cain, a farmer, brought produce he had grown and Abel, a shepherd, brought an offering from […]
In Parashat Shoftim, there is a section about the appointment and behavior of a king. It tells the Israelites that the king shall not be a foreigner, but one of their own people. This king must not have many horses, nor many wives, nor amass silver and gold for himself in excess, so that “his […]
After 40 years of journeying through the desert, the people of Israel arrive in the wilderness of Zin. After Miriam dies, there is no more water and the people become thirsty. God tells Moses to speak to a rock and command it to give water. Moses and Aaron gathered the assembly of people together in […]
Nothing is more difficult than admitting a mistake, but nothing is more human than making one. There are several places where the Torah deals with making mistakes and the merit of admitting one’s mistakes. In our parsha, we learn of the sota, a wife who is suspected of adultery. When the sota is accused, she […]
The book of Genesis ends in parshah Vayechi with three significant scenes. First, Jacob blesses his grandsons, Efraim and Menashe. Second, Jacob blesses his 12 sons. Third, after the death of Jacob, the brothers asked Joseph to forgive them for selling him into slavery, which he does. Evidently, the brothers harbor the suspicion that Joseph […]
This week’s torah portion begins: “Atem nitzavim hayom kulchem” which means: “You stand this day, all of you.” Moses is speaking to the Israelite community one last time before they enter the Promised Land and before he dies.
Moses prepares the Israelites to enter the covenant with God. He tells them that God’s covenant belongs to […]
If we had to choose only one Torah portion to summarize the entire Torah, which would it be? We could make arguments in favor of the various portions, but we would have to consider Parashah Vaetchanan as a strong contender. In this week’s parashah, we find a compilation of the Torah’s “greatest hits,” both in […]
