At this point in the Exodus story, things seem to be going well. After being enslaved for 210 years, the Jews had miraculously been freed and were now living in the desert and receiving protection, food, and water in a miraculous way. Sounds good, right? Let’s see.And the people complained and it was evil in […]

Leaders are made, they are not born. They are made by hard effort, which is the price which all of us must pay to achieve any goal that is worthwhile.   Vince LombardiHow does one make a leader? Let’s take a look at one of Judaism’s best; Moses. In addition to his many accomplishments, his crowning achievement […]

Miriam (Moses’ sister) spoke negatively about Moses to Aaron, their brother. As a result, she broke out intzaras, a form of leprosy that existed only in biblical times; it emerged when a person spokelashon hara, negative talk-non beneficial criticism. Moses prayed for Miriam, but the prayer was just five words.Moses cried out to G-d, saying, “Please, […]

 Miriam (Moses’ sister) spoke negatively about Moses to Aaron, their brother. As result, she broke out in tzaras, a form of leprosy that existed only in biblical times; it emerged when a person spoke lashon hara, negative talk-non beneficial criticism. Moses prayed for Miriam, but the prayer was just five words.Moses cried out to G-d, saying, “Please, G-d, […]

[Rav Yehudah Aryeh Leib Alter, known as Sfas Emes,the title of his magnum opus, was one of the most prominent Chassidic masters of the 19th century. Many of his writings focus on helping the downtrodden and persecuted Jews of his time find meaning in their existence. He employs the deep mystical concepts of Kabbala in his compositions […]

At this point in the Exodus story, things seem to be going well for the Jews. After being enslaved for 210 years, they had miraculously been freed and were now living in the desert. Their protection, food, and water were given to them in a miraculous way. One would think that this ideal existence is […]

This week the Torah tells us that the Children of Israel once again complained; they wanted meat in the desert. They recalled what they considered a better time in a better place–Egypt! Like many of us who are discontented with the world we live in, they spoke about the good old days. The rabble that […]