Introduction Parshat Nitzavim, one of the final Torah portions in the book of Deuteronomy, contains some of the most potent theological and ethical messages in the Jewish tradition. This article aims to explore the complex narrative presented in this portion, particularly in the context of the covenant between God and…
Category: Torah Portions
The Farmer’s Reminder to the Priest: A Fresh Look at Deuteronomy’s First Fruits
In Deuteronomy chapter 26, we find a significant ritual: the offering of the first fruits to the priest in the Jerusalem temple. The text states, “and he came to the Cohen (priest) that will be in those days and you shall say to him… ‘I declare today to the LORD…
Treading The Line Of Morality: War, Women, and Wayward Sons
In the complex nature of human decisions, where does one draw the line between choice and consequence, between moral clarity and ambiguity? Deuteronomy 21 offers a profound exploration into this very quandary. As we journey through tales of warriors, captive beauties, complexities of love and hate in marriage, and the…
The Dual Concept of Truth in the Torah
The concept of ‘truth’ is a recurring theme in religious and philosophical discourse. In the Torah, specifically the Five Books of Moses, the term is sparingly used, yet its instances of use shed light on the dual understanding of truth: the moral-spiritual truth and the empirical factual truth. Truth as…
An Eye for An Eye
There are parts of the Bible that if interpreted literally would be cruel and violent. For example the Bible (Exodus 21:24 — this week’s’ Torah portion) says that a violent attacker should pay “An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.” Another example is the law where…
The Secret to Success that Eluded Jacob
No one wants to live a life of mediocrity or failure and therefore go through life desperately seeking success. Yet, for many success seems to be ever-moving and unreachable goal post. What is the secret to true and lasting success? The life of Jacob, holds the secret to true and…
Geopolitical Wisdom from How God Dealt with Pharaoh
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wants the U.S. to keep the sanctions on Iran and potentially even increase them. It seems that President Obama and the international community disagree. I would argue that Netanyahu has the Bible on his side to back up his point of view. Here is why….
Did God overule Pharaoh’s Free will?
On the issue of freedom and free will, the Bible tells us that we have a choice between life and good or death and evil. Although it is up to us, the Bible implores us to choose life and good and to reject death and evil (Deuteronomy, 30:15-19). But is…
Changing The Educational Paradox
A couple of years ago I visited a Chassidic Rebbe who is known to be a proponent of the idea that each individual has a unique God-given purpose in life that he or she is obligated to follow. At the time I had just started working on forming Youth Directions–an…
Learning from Jacob’s Business Acumen
It’s little surprise that Jacob is revered by the Judaic tradition as a model for correct leadership. Jacob didn’t reject his father’s or his grandfather’s wisdom. Instead he combined them into a far more powerful mode of leadership. To illustrate this, let’s return to the biblical narrative (in this week’s…