The Inheritance that Belongs to Everyone Commenting on a key verse from today’s parsha, a Midrash tells a pointed story: Once Rabbi Yannai was walking along the way when he met a man who was elegantly dressed. He said to him, “Will the master be my guest?” He replied, “As you please.” Rabbi Yannai then […]
Leadership: Consensus or Command? The great transition is about to take place. Moses’ career as a leader is coming to an end. Joshua was leadership is about to begin. Moses blesses his successor. Then G-d does. Listen carefully to what they say, and to the subtle difference between. This is what Moses says: Be strong […]
Freedom Means Telling the Story Here’s an experiment. Walk around the great monuments of Washington. There at the far end is the figure of Abraham Lincoln, four times life size. Around him on the walls of the memorial are the texts of two of the greatest speeches of history, the Gettysburg address and Lincoln’s second […]
Two Types of Hate It is by any standards a strange, almost incomprehensible law. Here it is in the form it appears in this week’s parsha: Remember what the Amalekites did to you along the way when you came out of Egypt. When you were weary and worn out, they met you on your journey […]
Power from the Outside or Self-Restraint from Within This summer, we’ve seen riots on the streets of London and Manchester on the one hand, Tripoli on the other. On the face of it there was nothing in common between them. In London the rioters were holding rocks. In Tripoli they were holding machine guns. In […]
Making Poverty History Listen to these stories. Behind them lies an extraordinary insight into the nature of Jewish ethics: Story 1. Rabbi Abba used to bind money in his scarf, sling it on his back, and place it at the disposal of the poor. (Ketubot 67b) Story 2. Mar Ukba had a poor man in […]
Why Civilizations Fail What is the real challenge of maintaining a free society? In parshat Eikev, Moses springs his great surprise. Here are his words: Be careful that you do not forget the Lord your G-d… Otherwise, when you eat and are satisfied, when you build fine houses and settle down, and when your herds […]
Covenant and Emancipation It is one of the great stories of all time, and Moses foresaw it three thousand years before it happened. Here he is speaking in this week’s parsha: See, I have taught you decrees and laws as the Lord my God commanded me, so that you may follow them in the land […]
The Book of the Covenant Why does the book of Devarim have the structure it does, a mix of history, law, recollection and anticipation? The sages knew that Devarim had a clear structure. Elsewhere in the Torah some rabbis used the principle of semikhut haparshiyot – that we can learn something from the fact that passage Y […]
Natural or Supernatural? The book of Bemidbar draws to a close with an account of the cities of refuge, the six cities – three on each side of the Jordan – set apart as places to which people found innocent of murder, but guilty of manslaughter, were sent. In early societies, especially non-urban ones that […]
