Torah Commentary
Dealing Wisely with Torah
In Parashat Vaetchanan, Moses "places" the Torah before the Israelites with a warning.
Culture and Counterculture
Are the giants described in Parashat Devarim primitive foes to be vanquished or a compelling culture to be resisted?
How to Model Genuine Curiosity
In this Torah portion, the biblical character Pinchas shows us how to engender more positive relationships.
What Makes a Family?
The Torah offers several models of familial connection that depart from the standard model.
The Lost Years
The meaning, relationships and transformations that individuals and a nation make in-between milestones.
Between Chaos and Order
The biblical narrative of Korach's rebellion offers a deep lesson about how to emerge from challenging times.
The Perils of Groupthink
The story of the spies offers an object lesson in the importance of diversity -- and the danger of homogeneity.
Understanding the Sotah Ritual
The trial by ordeal prescribed for a woman suspected of infidelity is unparalleled anywhere else in the Torah.
When Sandy Koufax Refused to Play on Yom Kippur
Koufax’s refusal to play on the Day of Atonement, the holiest day on the Jewish calendar, became a major point of pride for American Jews, who saw that it was possible to live in two cultures at once.
The Prohibition Against Studying Torah on Tisha B’Av
Why would learning sacred Jewish texts be forbidden on this day of fasting and mourning?