Category: Morality
Of Idols and Ideals – parshas Ki Sisa
Describing our ancestors’ worshipping of the egel hazahav, the golden calf, the Torah relates that “Early next day, the people offered up olos [burnt offerings] and shelamim [peace sacrifices], they sat down to eat...
Parshas Terumah: Inside, Outside and In-Between
The aron habris, the holy ark described in the parshah, was essentially a wooden box set into a golden one, with another golden one set inside it (Yoma 72b). The Gemara (ibid) sees in...
Parshas Beshalach — Arms Race
The fundamental struggle of humanity, stripped of all of history’s dross, is between two views: The recognition of a Creator (and the resultant meaningfulness of human life) and the belief that life is the...
Free Speech Isn’t Only A Legal Issue, It’s a Moral One
A thought about free speech, born of Twitter’s cancellation of President Trump’s account, can be read here. Should any Cross-Current readers wish to be on my weekly e-mail list providing links to recent Ami...
Parshas Va’eira – A Partnership of Opposites
Only one of the Ten Plagues visited upon Par’oh and Mitzrayim elicits a declaration of guilt and admission of Hashem’s righteousness from the Egyptian leader.“ This time I have sinned,” Par’oh admits. “Hashem is...
Rabbis Reject Falsification of Orthodox Judaism
The Coalition for Jewish Values released a statement renouncing efforts to identify those who endorse deviance from Torah practices as “Orthodox rabbis.”
The Real Reason So Many Orthodox Jews Voted for Trump
An article with that title appears at the Forward and can be read here.
When Innocence Really Isn’t
Remarkably, in response to Avimelech’s protest over being punished for taking Sarah, Hashem confirms the king’s insistence that he had acted innocently, believing that Avraham and Sarah, as they had claimed, were brother and...
First Person Singular
It’s par for the course, in society today, to publicize ourselves uninhibitedly. Check out my blog! Visit my website! Self-promoting “shout-outs” are the way to go. But once upon a time, not so long...
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