Hope you’re having a great day. “And G-d formed the man of dust from the ground.  And He blew into his nostrils the soul of life.” (Genesis: 2:7) The creation of man? Haven’t we done that already? (1:26) Why is it repeated? If you took “Bible” in college, you may have heard “the answer.” That […]

Sorry we missed a day.  I am still in New York and hope, G-d willing, to be back next week.  I appreciate everyone’s good wishes and hope we will share many happy occasions. Here’s a thought for the day and for the weekend. The Creation story ends with the Shabbat. We say it in the […]

Today’s minute? More about ‘G-d created man in the Divine Image’. … It’s a powerful Jewish concept. And one of the most important ideas that Judaism brought to the world. For many reasons. … Think of ancient Greece. Of their religion and mythology. They had ‘Gods’ with every possible shortcoming. Lust. Jealousy. Anger. You name […]

Unfortunately Mrs. Bracha Katz’s father passed away today, and she and her husband, Rabbi Moshe Katz, will be in New York for the funeral and shiva. We join all their friends and students in extending our deepest, heartfelt condolences, and pray that G-d comfort them among the mourners of Zion and Jerusalem. Rabbi Katz asked […]

We’re going to wrap up the creation of the universe. And we did it in five days! The days of creation are followed with, “And G-d saw that it was good.” Then it says, “It was evening and it was morning, a third day.  … A fourth day…  A fifth day. On the sixth day, […]

Well, by now, I think we all know how many verses the Torah spends on the Creation Story. Thirty one!  (It’s not a bad trivia question to try on your friends!) Here’s a note from a member of our group. “Thirty one verses seems kind of short, considering it is Creation!  It got me thinking: […]

Hope you’re having a great day. We’ve been discussing how the Torah’s account of Creation is not designed to tell us how G-d created the world.  But that He did.  And that in the space of only 31 verses, the Torah makes other important points that we should know. We are told that G-d created […]

Hi, and welcome to our new daily virtual Torah study. I hope you are as excited as I am! Let’s start with a brief introduction to the Torah. What it is and what it’s not. … First, the Torah is not a history book. The history it presents is very incomplete. Sometimes it will go […]