ב"ה

Lech-Lecha 5765 - October 22, 2004

Replacing Fundamentalism... With What?

If we are honest with ourselves we would have to admit that laser-guided missiles and Abrams tanks are more lethal killing machines than a masked man with a butcher knife. So what is it about these anachronistic beheadings that offends us so much?
Parshah
Lech Lecha in a Nutshell
Abram travels to Canaan, Sarai is taken captive by Pharaoh, and Lot settles in the evil city of Sodom. G‑d promises the Land of Israel to Abram’s descendants. Ishmael is born, Abram becomes Abraham, Sarai becomes Sarah, and they are promised a son. Abraham circumcises himself.
What's the Story with Reincarnation?

What's the story with reincarnation? Who is reincarnated, and why?
A Different Kind of Spirituality

As I mouth the words, my leg moves back and forth, rocking my newborn's carriage. One forefinger is pointing in my daughter's siddur, while my other arm worms its way through my young son's snack bag. You call this praying?
Ratzo V'Shov

The droplet yearns for the source. The spark craves the great fire. Shall we plunge into the sea of Nothingness?
Everything that happened to the Patriarchs is a signpost for their children. This is why the Torah elaborates its account of their journeys, their well-digging and the other events [of their lives]... For when something happens to one of the Patriarchs, one understands from it what is decreed to occur to his descendants.
— Nachmanides