Rabbi Corinne Copnick: Window to the Outside World
Rabbi Copnick’s article, written a few years ago, is surprisingly relevant today in a post-COVID world that has come to embrace zoom technology. Please follow the link below to read her article:
Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, z’l: Matot-Masei – The Complexity of Human Rights
The daughters of Tzelophehad claimed their rights as individuals, rather than as a group. Yet individualism is also synonymous with chaos. Thus, the tribes as a society formed the organizing principle of Judaism. Therefore, their rights were offset by the tribal rights of the male relatives.
Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, z/l: Pinchas – Moshe’s Disappointment
Rabbi Sacks asks the question: Why did Moshe’s prayer for a successor appear here, instead of 7 chapters earlier, when God informed him that he would die in the wilderness? He identifies the first clue—if the daughters of Zelophechad could inherit, then why couldn’t his sons? The second clue is that he wanted to die like Aaron, whose sons inherited his position.
Rabbi Adam Ruditsky: Matot-Masei
Rabbi Ruditsky writes that while the parashah, at first glance, focuses on societal order, it is substantially concerned with vows and oaths. Rabbi Ruditsky explains these as personal declarations of self-affirming choices, whose power rests in the commitment and integrity of the one making the affirmation.
Ownership comes with Expectations! By Rabbi Adam Ruditsky
Rabbi Ruditsky writes about the various concepts of ownership–both of land and of Torah.
Ethics, Judaism, and AI: Can ChatGPT Strengthen Your Judaism?
Imagine if Cinderella were a panic-stricken college student, laboring at the last hour to compose a term paper on the portrayal of women in 19th-century literature.
Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, z/l: Parashat Korach
Rabbi Sacks writes about Korach’s political perceptiveness in knowing exactly how to incite a rebellion. However, the rebellion could not have succeeded in any case, since the groups had different objectives.
The Sephardic Jews in the American Revolutionary War
Please follow the link below to the Sephardic University article on Sephardic Jews in the American Revolutionary War:
Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, z/l: Shelach Lecha
The spies feared success, not failure. This is the common mistake of deeply religious men. God wanted the Israelites to create a model society, where the Shechinah could become close to the people.
Rabbi Jonathan Sacks: From Despair to Hope – Beha’alotecha
Rabbi Sacks writes about the challenges of leadership, such as those experienced by Moses in this week’s parashah, Beha’alotecha. Spiritual leadership is especially challenging. Moses called on God to kill him because he could not manage the weight of leadership.