Category: Lectures

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…

So why is it considered cute on newborns? Slumped over – Cute!  Bald- Adorable!  Chubby thighs- Delicious! Can we try and be that forgiving to everyone else? Obviously it must be the fact that newborns can make such interesting conversation, or are so considerate, and are so other directed! Is that what makes us willing…

Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie’s Divorce

  Social media has gone wild with the breakup of Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt. Headlines scream out “The Planet Is Shocked”; “Fans Mourn Brad and Angelina’s split”; “Cheer on Jennifer Aniston.” The divorce of Hollywood’s golden couple has caused a tsunami of gossipy speculation, catching more than the usual attention by Twitter and Facebook…

            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…

  Recipes are the hottest thing!   I grew up flavoring by “feel”.  In other words, if You felt like pouring something in, you did!  Really -my mother has this gift for flavoring things and I just copied that. Which I think she got from her mom. My sister, in fact, once tried to watch…

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,…

  I’m looking to buy a magic flying carpet. Anyone have one for sale?   I’m glad to be a part of someone’s celebration. We pray for it. We want good things to happen to others. We want to be there. But we really don’t enjoy the Schlepping!   People think – “I’m looking for…