Person in the Parsha: Pinchas

July 22, 2022

By RABBI TZVI HERSH WEINREB

“ZEALOTRY AND TOLERANCE“

Jewish people teach Jewish values to their children, and to all who wish to be informed about their faith. If one is asked “Should I or should I not?” we...

Person in the Parsha: Balak

July 08, 2022

By RABBI TZVI HERSH WEINREB

“WHO WAS YOUR TEACHER?“

Except for the saints among us, we all boast. Sometimes we boast about our own natural endowments, our good looks, or our athletic prowess. Often we boast about our...

Off the Pulpit: Bitterness?

July 08, 2022

By RABBI DAVID WOLPE

In an age of polarization, it is useful to remember how often great spirits have avoided the bitterness that poisons our discourse.

“With malice toward none with charity toward all.” Lincoln avoided the recriminations one might...

Person in the Parsha: Chukat

July 01, 2022

By RABBI TZVI HERSH WEINREB

“DISCOVERING OUR MORTALITY”

It was at a house of mourning, and she was saying something that I had heard many times before. In fact, I had said it myself when I...

Off the Pulpit: How To Feel Bad About Yourself

July 01, 2022

By RABBI DAVID WOLPE

Is believing the best about yourself always a virtue?

The greatest religious figures are often those most convinced of their inadequacies. A man once approached A.J. Heschel and said “I love my family, I pay my...

Person in the Parsha: Korach

June 23, 2022

By RABBI TZVI HERSH WEINREB

“TWO JEWS, THREE OPINIONS”

We all nod our heads in agreement when we hear the phrase, “Two Jews, three opinions.” We similarly chuckle when we hear the anecdote about...

Off the Pulpit: Secrets

June 23, 2022

By RABBI DAVID WOLPE

The Talmud records a peculiar blessing: “One who sees a crowd of Israelites should say, ‘Blessed be God who knows secrets.'”

Why do we bless God’s knowledge of secrets? Because when we look at a crowd...

Person in the Parsha: Shelach

June 17, 2022

By RABBI TZVI HERSH WEINREB

“CALEB AT THE CROSSROADS“

Imagine standing at a crossroads. We have all been there. We have all experienced moments in our life’s journey when we had to make a crucial choice and decide...

Off the Pulpit: Invisible Footsteps

June 17, 2022

By RABBI DAVID WOLPE

Sometimes we know things not by their presence but by their effects. In building the periodic table, Medeleyev filled in gaps based on what he had already figured out. Certain elements, though he had not actually...

Person in the Parsha: Beha’alotecha

June 10, 2022

By RABBI TZVI HERSH WEINREB

I don’t usually disagree publicly with lecturers, particularly when they are expressing opinions which are mostly consistent with my own. But there was one time when I felt that I had to speak up and...