Parashat Ha Shavua Commentaries

Social pressure to conform is a steady and soul-deadening force. With relentless enticements, cultures seek ways to impose similarity of worldview, of behavior, even of thought upon their members. Even contemporary society, with its laudable commitment to individuality, imposes subtle mandates through the media, through the movies, through advertisements and in countless other ways. Small wonder, then, that the truly free soul is rare. Read more...

In his magisterial presentation of Judaism, The Guide of the Perplexed, Rabbi Moses ben Maimon (known as Maimonides to the Western world) explains that the purpose of the Torah is twofold: the welfare of the soul and the welfare of the body. Rambam points out that the welfare of the soul is more noble and greater, but that it comes only after the welfare of the body. And he defines the welfare of the body both in terms of the individual (maintaining health), but also in terms of the body politic (fashioning a society of justice and compassion). Read more...

Walk into any synagogue and you'll see them in the sanctuary.  Generally, they're above the Aron (the Ark), or on a wall.  Walk into many churches and you'll be greeted by the same sight.  The two tablets of the Ten Commandments have become the eloquent symbols of religion, good and decency throughout the western world. Read more...

What are you willing to die for? In the course of our daily routine, there are certain focal points -- actions, comments or individuals -- which can ignite our passion like nothing else. While these things may not receive a great deal of conscious thought or even our waking effort, their significance lies in how important they are to our sense of identity, of worth, or of meaning.   Read more...

As he ran through the trees, the lad's breath was beginning to come more easily, and the burning feeling in his face started cooling. He had been running for half an hour, and was getting in his running groove. This was a pace he could keep up for hours. He was far and away the best runner among his peers, and he took pride in that. He loved the solitude of the trail, and whenever he was angry or upset, he would go off on a run. Like now. Read more...