by Shira Schechter (Moderator) | f 10, 2023 | Shemot, Fear of God, God, Humility, Justice, Kindness and Compassion, Leadership
By Adam Eliyahu Berkowitz “You’re a lot shorter in person than I expected.” That is the phrase that actors hear most often. It is the flip side of the “larger than life” perception of famous people. Science fiction stories about time machines always portray the...
by Eliyahu Berkowitz | f 14, 2022 | Psalms, God, Good and Evil, Justice, Tests and Trials
David’s journey to kingship was not easy. Obstacles stood in his way and evil men attacked him. But David had a perspective on this that leveraged these difficulties to help his devotion to God. This was expressed in Psalm 11: Hashem seeks out the righteous man but...
by Shira Schechter (Moderator) | f 22, 2022 | Covenant, Justice, Light Unto the Nations, Responsibility
By Adam Eliyahu Berkowitz Every year, just before Rosh Hashana (Hebrew New Year), I ask myself why I should work so hard at repenting. How bad were my sins really? I look around and figure that I am no worse than any of my neighbors. And then I read the Torah portion...
by Shira Schechter (Moderator) | f 18, 2022 | Pinchas, Justice, Leadership
It has happened to most of us; we do a great job, going above and beyond all expectations. Even more than that, we stand up when no one else was willing to. Our boss compliments us and gives us a certificate of appreciation. But the next week, when a new position in...
by Shira Schechter (Moderator) | f 12, 2022 | Community, Emor, God, Justice, Kindness and Compassion, Redemption
Leviticus (chapter 24) relates the story of a fight between an Israelite man and a half-Israelite man. The half-Israelite man was the son of Shelomith, daughter of Dibri, from the tribe of Dan, and his father was an Egyptian. In the course of the fight, the...
by Shira Schechter (Moderator) | f 12, 2022 | Emor, Justice, Repentance
Leviticus seems to tell the Children of Israel that when someone hurts his fellow he should be punished in kind. Understood literally, the verses seem to say that we must implement reciprocal justice; paying another back measure for measure for the harm he inflicts on...
