Open Hearts, Open Hands
As Avraham enters into the covenant, he circumcises himself in his old age. The first we learn of him afterwards, the first act by the first religious person, is that as he recuperated in the blazing...
View ArticleHow to Pray so God Will Listen
Everyone has their own conception of what prayer is, and with good reason considering how personal it is. While there are diverse philosophical schools of thought about precisely how prayer works and...
View ArticleThe Call to Action
Avraham is called the Hebrew, meaning stranger. He is counter-cultural. In his resistance to social trends and public opinion, he earns the blessing of being a father of multitudes. וַיּוֹצֵא אֹתוֹ...
View ArticleThe Candle in the Dark
When Avraham pleads for Sodom to be spared, he speculates that perhaps fifty righteous people would make the city worth saving. Hashem agrees: וַיֹּאמֶר ה, אִם-אֶמְצָא בִסְדֹם חֲמִשִּׁים צַדִּיקִם...
View ArticleThe Binding of Isaac Redux
The Binding of Isaac, known as the Akeida, is one of the most challenging stories in the Jewish tradition. Our sages and philosophers have grappled with it since time immemorial, and with good reason....
View ArticleMake Some Space
One of Judaism’s treasured traditions is entertaining guests. We praise altruism and aspire to emulate role models who practiced it, Avraham foremost among them. As Avraham recovers from circumcision,...
View ArticleAn Answer to the Problem of Evil
There is a famous philosophical problem called The Problem of Evil. We believe that God is omnipotent and omniscient, yet we see evil all around us. It’s not just for philosophers; it’s a question we...
View ArticleGod Needs Partners
Avraham was a powerful icon whose legacy has reverberated across the ages. The way the Torah sums up his life is that he had it all: וְאַבְרָהָם זָקֵן בָּא בַּיָּמִים וַה’ בֵּרַךְ אֶת־אַבְרָהָם בַּכֹּל...
View ArticleLift As You Climb
In the introduction to the Flood story, the Torah introduces Noach as the righteous man of his day. This is famously taught to be an ambiguous description – that Noach was the greatest in his...
View Article
