These past few weeks, we have discussed how in the month of Elul, G-d comes down from Heaven and is amongst us, closer to us, begging us to get closer to Him. In this week’s Torah portion of Nitzavim there are two verses on which on want to focus: Deuteronomy 30:6 “Umal Hashem Elokechah…
Category: Lenore Davis
Tova Mirvis, Where Are You?
Tova Mirvis, your article affected me. I was devastated by the heart wrenching account you gave of feeding your Orthodox son his first slice of trayf/unkosher pizza, not too trayf, only slightly trayf. We cant hide anything from children, they see and feel it all even if at times they don’t verbalize it. It…
We Chareidi, Part III
It is taking me months to work through We Chareidi III. In We Chareidi I and II, we explored prejudices that we Jews have against each other, in labelling each other. We watched in horror recently, as Rabbis and their wives in Lakewood were taken from their homes in handcuffs. They were charged with welfare…
The Giving Tree: To Laugh or to Cry
The Giving Tree authored by Shel Silverstein makes me cringe. Other people adore the book. Yes, there is an open dichotomy, a real dichotomy in the book based on whether the reader focuses on the tree or the child. I’ll try to describe the story impartially, although its nearly impossible because of the strong…
A Bissel Torah: Shoftim/Open the Gates of Heaven
I’m tired, I confess. But there is a bonding opportunity now in between camp and school. Have you noticed that camps are no longer eight weeks long, not even seven weeks long anymore, but now six and a half weeks long. It poses a real challenge to working parents, but a real opportunity as…
Life Turns on a Dime
It was just last week that I wrote how important it is for people to give themselves time out. Time to regain the sense of themselves and their purpose. To refill their physical, spiritual and emotional tanks to deal with what G-d gives us to manage. I was on a high coming back from…
My Son’s in I.C.U., Let’s Count the Blessings
I am not sure if this is even appropriate at this time. It is in the middle of the night and I cant sleep. Im in pediatric intensive care unit and my son is fighting two infections. I’ve been saying tehilim most of the night, and I have committed myself to a program of…
Eema, You Need a Time-Out
About 15 years ago, when my eldest child was five years old, I came in from work later than he did and saw his jacket, socks and shoes scattered all over the place. I started calling him and berating him for this and that and the other thing all at once, he replied, “Eema,…
A BISSEL TORAH: EIKEV: Set the World on Fire
Eikev Asher tishmiun/If you will only listen to do the laws that G-d set forth. Eikev, if you will only. The root of the word is heel and the commentaries tell us not to grind any of the commandments under your heel as if they were dust, or small commandments which could be neglected. We…
A Bissel Torah: Devarim
In the book of Devarim/Deuteronomy, we have Moshe rehashing history, but with a twist. If you compare the original scenes in the original three books of the Torah, they are told with a different lense. Moshe is unable to bring the Jews into the promised land. He is afraid when he dies, that the…