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| Home » Writings, Speeches, Broadcasts » Covenant & Conversation » 5770 |
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| Balak 5771 |
| 9/7/2011 |
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The dictionary defines epiphany as “a sudden manifestation of the essence or meaning of something; a comprehension
or perception of reality by means of a sudden intuitive realization.” This is the story of an epiphany I experienced one day in May, 2001, and it changed my perception of the Jewish fate.
It was Shavuot, and we were in Jerusalem. We had gone for lunch to a former lay leader of a major Diaspora community. Also present at the table was an Isr... |
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| Haazinu 5771 |
| 7/9/2010 |
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One of the most tragic moments in Western civilization came when Christians began distinguishing between what they called “the Old Testament G-d of vengeance” as opposed to the “New Testament G-d of love.” This is not a small error. One trembles to think how many Jews lost their lives because of it. It survives today, even among good and sensitive people. There is hardly a week when I do not see some reference to it in the national press. It is one of those taken-for-granted assumptions t... |
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| Nitzavim Vayelich 5770 |
| 4/9/2010 |
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At the end of his life, Moses gave the people the penultimate command - the 612th of the 613 that comprise the Torah. It was a command of far-reaching significance. The Israelites were about to cross the Jordan, and enter and take possession of the promised land. There they would begin life as a self-governing nation under the sovereignty of G-d.
It would not be easy. With his prophetic eye turned to the furthermost horizon of the future, Moses had been warning the people througho... |
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| Ki Tavo 5770 |
| 28/8/2010 |
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In two sentences in this week’s sedra, the Torah summarizes the entire relationship between G-d and the people of Israel:
You have affirmed [he-emarta] this day that the Lord is your, G-d, that you will walk in His ways, that you will observe His laws and commandments and rules, and that you will obey Him. And the Lord has affirmed [he-emirkha] this day that you are, as He promised you, His treasured people who shall observe all His commandmen... |
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