Off the Pulpit: Show me the money?

March 03, 2023

By RABBI DAVID WOLPE

The Talmud tells of a flute in the Temple made of reeds that survived from the days of Moses: “The King issued a command that it be plated with gold, but it no longer sounded pleasant....

Person in the Parsha: Tetzaveh

February 24, 2023

By RABBI TZVI HIRSH WEINREB

“DON’T RAIN ON MY PARADE!”

If you have raised a child, you have had this experience. Your little boy or girl came home from school with a sample of...

Off the Pulpit: With Open Eyes

February 24, 2023

By RABBI DAVID WOLPE

The Mai Hashiloah (R. Mordecai Joseph Leiner, d. 1854) points to a fascinating difference between Moses and Isaac. Moses died “with his eyes undimmed” (Deut. 34:7). For Isaac, “his eyes were dim” (Gen. 27:1).

The Mei...

Person in the Parsha: Terumah

February 17, 2023

By RABBI TZVI HERSH WEINREB

“CHARITY”

Scholars have long disagreed about what distinguishes human beings from the rest of the animal world. Some have argued that it is man’s intelligence and use of language...

Off the Pulpit: To Learn and To Labor

February 17, 2023

By RABBI DAVID WOLPE

Judaism values study — that is no surprise. But it also values engagement in the world. In the Talmud (Ber. 35b), there is a classic dispute: Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai says one should spend all of...

Person in the Parsha: Mishpatim

February 10, 2023

By RABBI TZVI HERSH WEINREB

“THE MANY LESSONS OF HALF”

I was never very good at math. It all goes back to the fourth grade. I came down with a case of some ordinary...

Off the Pulpit: The Curious Commandment

February 10, 2023

By RABBI DAVID WOLPE

The Tenth Commandment teaches us not to covet. How can emotion be legislated?

Our tradition offers many answers. One points to the idea that you only covet that which you believe you can have. Whatever belongs...

Person in the Parsha: Yitro

February 03, 2023

By RABBI TZVI HERSH WEINREB

“FATHERS-IN-LAW“

Very much has been written about most family relationships. There are books about fathers and sons, fathers and daughters, and mothers and sons and daughters. Many volumes have been written about relationships,...

Off the Pulpit: In Defense of Sacrifices

February 03, 2023

By RABBI DAVID WOLPE

Reading of sacrifices in the Bible, many are mortified to think that ancient Israelites would slaughter animals at the Temple. It seems primitive, bloody, even barbaric. As someone who has not eaten chicken or meat in...

Person in the Parsha: Beshalach

January 27, 2023

By RABBI TZVI HERSH WEINREB

“SONG OF THE SEA”

Teaching young children has always been a joy for me. One of teaching’s special advantages is the clarity that emerges from conversation with people under...