Month: October 2013

Why would Ephron offer the burial plot as a gift only to name an excessive price moments later? And why would Avraham reject the gift, but pay the excessive price? What if Ephron (like the Hebronites) genuinely saw Avraham as a Prince of G-d. The gift of land can earn them eternal merit. When Avraham… Continue reading Chayei Sarah

Avraham promises his guests a morsel, but gives them a feast. Why? My brother Isaiah points out that he sees G-d in the men. He recognizes the divine in others. While I think this is true, I think the point here is a little different. Avraham promises them a morsel, but never says they should… Continue reading Vayeira

Lech Lecha starts like an old-fashioned long distance marriage. The bride leaves her land, the land of her birth and her father’s house and goes to a distance place she’ll be shown. The proposal is a good marriage in return. Avram accepts this marriage  just as Rivkah does later. He doesn’t know everything about the ‘groom.’… Continue reading Lech Lecha

Hashem’s policy of ‘encouraging through forgiveness’ ends in Parshat Bereshit. We have now entered another stage – ‘encouragement through threat.’ The story of the flood is the baseline of this threat – like a paddle hanging on the wall of an old-fashioned school house. Recording the measurements and capturing the dates of this event serve… Continue reading Noach

In the last week, I’ve witnessed an overriding theme develop among conservatives in the analysis of the recent election.  From Mark Steyn to Rabbi Pruzansky they see a fundamental shift in the American spirit: Americans have become big babies begging for a nanny state to take care of them. They like free stuff and will… Continue reading Better than Eden (a reaction to the 2012 election)