Last month, I offered insight into the Rabbinic machlochet (debate) between our Sages Hillel and Shammai on the subject of Hanukah Lights.   This month, I offer you their discussion of the timing of the New Year of the Trees. Mishnah Rosh HaShanah Chapter 1: (1) The four new years are: On the first of Nisan, […]

Last week, in the car on an errand, I was listening to NPR.   In an interview of ATUL GAWANDE, one of the folks on President Elect Joe Biden’s Pandemic Response counsel declared:  “This week we learned about the results of the Pfizer vaccine and its likely great effectiveness. That puts a light at the end […]

In the first two Portions of the Torah, humanity is given the responsibility to take care of the creatures of the earth.  In Genesis, Adam and Eve are named caretakers for the animals in the Garden of Eden and then beyond. (In Genesis 1:28 the instruction is to “fill, master and rule.”  In Genesis 2:15 it […]

Every so often I come across a “message in a bottle.”   These are situations where a person leaves a note, and someone across time and space, finds it and is inspired and empowered.   This year, the “message in a bottle”, was an email from a father to his daughter.  https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-53263220 The beauty of the story is […]