curses
Make the Right Choice Today
By Adam Eliyahu Berkowitz People who know me know that I cannot remember dates at all. I celebrated my 60th birthday twice because I couldn’t remember what year I was born. But I remember my daughter’s birthday every year. Why? A little...
How a Prophet Became a Contract Killer
The Torah portion of Balak features Balaam, an elder with a global reputation as a philosopher, magician, and moral degenerate. Balaam lived in Aram-Naharaim, the area between the northern sections of the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers, now...
The Exile as a Sign of God’s Everlasting Love for Israel
There are two passages in the Torah that contain a short list of promised blessings should the Children of Israel adhere to the commandments, and a longer list of curses should they not. The first is found in Leviticus chapter 26 and the...
“Read the curses out loud”: From the Holocaust to the Holy Land
Rabbi Shlomo Riskin told the following story about Rabbi Yekusiel Yehudah Halberstam, the spiritual leader of the Sanz-Klausenberg sect of Hassidic Jews. Rabbi Halberstam's wife, eleven children and most of his followers were murdered by...
The Portion of Behukotai
This week’s portion is the final one in the Book of Leviticus. It is often read in conjunction with the previous portion, Behar. Our portion contains a brief passage outlining the blessings God offers the Children of Israel on...
