This week’s parasha is once again short and to the point. Moshe gives the people of Israel a shira, a poem or song, which will serve as a reminder of their commitment to Hashem. Moshe told them to put these words into their hearts, simu levavchem, because this is no small thing, ki lo davar …
The more things change, the more they stay the same: in this week’s parasha of Vayelech, Moshe, like all good Jewish parents and teachers, was extremely worried. He was about to bid his final goodbye to his people, and he feared the worst: that they would ignore the mitzvot he had taught them and that …
My keyboard has changed since I began typing. I don’t use a Mac, so on the right side of my keyboard, underneath the backspace key, lies the key labeled “enter.” When I first began typing, I used a typewriter: my mom’s electric Smith-Corona. When I reached the end of a line of text, I would …
Our Torah reading this week begins with the commandment to appoint shoftim and shotrim. We know what shofitm do — they judge. Rambam in Hilchot Sanhedrin explains that shoftim sit in court and those with claims come before them. But just what are shotrim and what do they do? Rambam explains that shotrim have the …
I have been thinking a lot about habits recently. That’s probably because I’m reading Charles Duhigg’s fascinating book The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business. At the end of the summer, we have a chance to revisit, restart and tweak our habits and routines as school begins again …
There is excellent parenting advice in this week’s parasha. We just need to be ready to hear and internalize it. As I made my way through my summer pile of books, I gained a great deal of chizuk from Dr. Leonard Sax’s The Collapse of Parenting. Dr. Sax, a pediatrician and psychologist, has seen a sea change …
I couldn’t help but think of Seinfeld as I looked over this week’s parasha of Va-etchanan. Many of us remember that the book of Devarim is unique in that it consists almost entirely of a series of speeches delivered by Moshe before his death. Much of the book is therefore written in the first person, …
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