When I was in T.A.G. Elementary school, we were asked to learn Haazinu by heart. And we did. Until last week, I didn’t understand what was so important about Haazinu that it had to be memorized. The answer is in last week’s Parshah/torah portion, Deuteronomy 31:16, After Moses’ death, the Jews will sin, and…
Category: Lenore Davis
THE DEBATE: A DISASTER, YOM KIPPUR AND “LOCKER ROOM TALK”
Maimonides tells us that what separates man from animal is that man talks/adam medaber. It means that man is rational. He can think out his thoughts in a rational fashion, filter out what needn’t be said, and use tact for what is said. In last night’s debate between presidential candidates, Donald Trump and Hilary Clinton,…
A Bissel Torah: Vayelech
This parshah discusses preparations for Moses’ death. Last week we discussed how parshat Nitzavim set forth the emotional distress Moses was in at facing the fact that he would not bring the Jews into Israel, their destiny. He was distraught because he foresaw that the Jews would continue to sin, and he would not be…
A Bissel Torah: Ki Tavo
The parshah almost appears to be a repetition of parshat Bechukotai, if you follow G-d’s commandments, you will be rewarded, and if you don’t follow G-d’s commandments, then you will be punished. A recurring theme in any religion. Let’s review some interesting points up close. For forty years, the Jews were in the…
Storing Legal Documents
The last place you want to put legal documents is in a bank’s safe deposit box. Why? Because if you need them before or after business hours, they will not be available. Furthermore, when the holder of the safe deposit box dies, the box is frozen, and a court order is required to access…
A Bissel Torah: Ki Teizei: A Vision Board
Who am I? What am I? This parshah is replete with miniature paragraphs on what to do when you find yourself in different life situations. How to treat a wife, how to treat a woman that you find amongst your enemies during war, how to be merciful with a bird, how to be merciful to…
A Rash of Doing Nothing
This summer my practice experienced numerous cases where people failed to act. They failed to write a will, appoint a health care agent and determine who was going to get jewelry and art collections. There is a false notion that if one is married with children, and there is no will, when one dies,…
A Bissel Torah: Vaetchanan
A short thought to share with you. There are no coincidences in life. Why is it that the reciting of the ten commandments again occurs this time of year, specifically for Shabbat Nachamu, after the commemoration of destruction of the Jerusalem Temple, and the beginning of the trajectory to the high holy days. A review…
The Phoneless Wealthy
By: Suri Stern Can anyone forget the scene in The Sound of Music, when Fraulein Maria takes the Von Trapp children on a boat, and they are so excited to see their father, they all stand up at once and topple the boat over and fall into the water fully clothed and happy as can…
A BISSEL TORAH: EMOR
On Shabbos between Passover and Shavuoth it is customary to recite Pirkei Avoth/Ethics of our Father. In this weeks chapter, there is the following partial verse: “Akavia ben Mahalalel says Consider three things and you will not come into the grip of sin: Know whence you came, whither you go and before whom you will…