Person in the Parsha: Shemot

January 10, 2020

By RABBI TZVI HERSH WEINREB

“SPIRITUAL TIME MANAGEMENT”

The two old men couldn’t have been more different from each other. Yet they both taught me the identical life lesson.

The first, a cagey old Irishman, was one of...

Off the Pulpit: Enough!

January 10, 2020

By RABBI DAVID WOLPE

When the brothers meet, Esau tells Jacob “I have much.” Jacob responds by saying “I have enough” (lit. I have everything.)

The scholar and ethicist Meir Tamari calls this “the economics of enough.” We always want...

Person in the Parsha: Vayechi

January 03, 2020

By RABBI TZVI HERSH WEINREB

“EACH ONE IS ONE OF A KIND”

I was very embarrassed by her sharp rebuke. But looking back, I realize that the lesson I learned from her brief criticism was more valuable than...

Off the Pulpit: A New Year of Prayer

January 03, 2020

By RABBI DAVID WOLPE

Those who are new to traditional Jewish prayer often hear it as a parade of gibberish. There are moments when the congregation sings together but then it is like boxers retreating to their corners, each becoming...

Person in the Parsha: Vayigash

December 27, 2019

By RABBI TZVI HERSH WEINREB

“WAGONS, CALVES AND RESPONSIBILITY“

I have been blessed with many fine teachers. She was one of the best.

Her name was Mrs. Lachmann. I no longer recall her first name. She taught an...

Off the Pulpit: An Eye for Beauty

December 27, 2019

By RABBI DAVID WOLPE

There are many different ways to understand beauty, of course, and Judaism often speaks of character attributes as beautiful. Yet despite the caution in Proverbs that beauty is vain, physical splendor too is acknowledged and prized...

Person in the Parsha: Miketz (Shabbat Chanukah)

December 19, 2019

By RABBI TZVI HERSH WEINREB

“TWO KINDS OF PEOPLE”

“There are two kinds of people.” I am sure that you all have heard one variation or another of that theme.

We seem to have a well-ingrained habit of...

Off the Pulpit: End goals and goals without end

December 19, 2019

By RABBI DAVID WOLPE

There is a problem with the word “toldot.” It usually means children, or perhaps generations. But when the Torah says “These are the toldot of Jacob: Joseph” (Genesis Ch. 37) it does not list all of...

Person in the Parsha: Vayeshev

December 13, 2019

By RABBI TZVI HERSH WEINREB

“THE WISDOM OF THE EAST“

There are jokes which are very funny on the surface, but which, upon reflection, can be quite painful and disturbing.

One of them, which was told frequently twenty...

Off the Pulpit: The Right Kind of Silence

December 13, 2019

By RABBI DAVID WOLPE

The Talmud tells the story of Rav Safra, who was offered a price for some goods but could not respond as he was in the middle of prayers. The buyer kept upping the price. When Rav...