This past week in Israel, the challenge of running a modern day state against the backdrop of a 3,000 year old tradition again came to the forefront. Tens of thousands of commuters, including … more

Our parish contains a pasuk (verse) that references the mitzvah of brit milah: “And on the eighth day, the flesh of his foreskin shall be circumcised.” (Vayikra 12:3) … more

Our parasha begins with the 16th chapter of Sefer Bamidbar. It tells the story of Korach and his followers, and their rebellion against G-d and His Torah, Moshe, and Aharon. There are countless … more

One of the saddest stories I ever heard was from a holocaust survivor who would say Kaddish on the tenth of Tevet every year, in the shul I grew up in as a boy. He was given the privilege of leading … more

The shalosh regalim are the crown jewels of the Jewish year. Pesach commemorates the Exodus, Shavuot celebrates the giving of the Torah, and Sukkot is the festival that memorializes Hashem’s … more

They had only been in the army for eight months, and had only recently completed basic training, but on the books they were paratroopers. The youngest of the units sent into one of the toughest … more

The book of Bereishit ends on a sublime note of reconciliation between Jacob’s sons. Joseph’s brothers were afraid that he had not really forgiven them for selling him into slavery. They suspected … more

There is an important principle in Judaism, a source of hope and also one of the structuring principles of the Torah. It is the principle that G-d creates the cure before … more

When the sun, moon and stars bow By Rabbi Avi Billet Issue of Dec. 19, 2008 / 22 Kislev 5769 Bundles of grain and stars bow down to Yosef. What does it all mean? In 37:7 Yosef … more

The primary topic of our double parsha focuses on the affliction of tzaraat, its diagnosis and prognosis. The attention is primarily on the kohen, who is given detailed instructions for how to detect what is or is not tzaraat. He is also given tremendous autonomy in deciding whether the mark he is examining is tzaraat. Interestingly, there is no mashgiach monitoring to see that what the kohen declares is “correct.” He makes the call. more