Parashat Ha Shavua Commentaries

An ancient Midrash portrays Alexander of Macedon, conqueror of the known world, standing at the gate of the Garden of Eden.  He demands admission and is told that only the tzaddikim, the righteous, may enter there.  Alexander becomes indignant: no one has treated this monarch with such indifference before!  To try to save face, Alexander insists that at the very least, the angel guarding the gate should offer him something of great worth.  So the angel gives him a human eyeball.   Read more...

One of the abiding truths of human nature is that we delight in discovering the faults of each other, and we hate to reveal our own shortcomings. While we know in our hearts that “to err is human,” none of us likes to acknowledge our own humanity, our own propensity to make mistakes, even to sin. Read more...

Several years ago, I visited a friend's apartment for the first time.  On her bathroom mirror, she had a cute, little plague which read: 'Mirror, mirror on the wall, Oh my god, I'm my mother after all.'  Funny - but because of how right it is or how wrong it is? Read more...

One of the stumbling blocks that often makes it difficult for contemporary Jews to embrace Judaism tradition fully is the perception that women are treated as second-class citizens, as somehow less than equal within Judaism. Read more...

Life can be painfully lonely.  Even with the best of health, with adequate incomes, friends, and a fulfilling career, it is still possible to succumb to a sense of the futility and the isolation of life.   Read more...