Parshah Columnists

G‑d can give us a family, a car, a house and a job, and I may not enjoy any of it. Why? Because no matter how good it is now, the shakiness of what about tomorrow steals the show and scares me.

And as many times as you hear it, you’re moved all the same. If the tune grabs you from the get-go, it will almost always continue to do so.

Snow is easy to clear, but once it’s been beaten down and turned to ice, what would have been a ten-minute job can turn into hours of banging and salting to break up the rock-hard sheets.

The sages tell us that it was all because of the children...

Bombarded from every direction, we can hardly help but respond. We try harder, run faster and work longer, racing at breakneck speed like mad hamsters on a wheel. No one expects to keep running forever. We all intend to stop—just as soon as we get where we’re going . . .

Being that I struggle with grownuphood in general, you can imagine my apoplexy at the fact that our oldest daughter, Nava, is becoming Bat Mitzvah this week. Yup, according to Jewish law, my baby is about to become a woman. Which, I guess, means I better start seeing myself as one, if I need to see her as one . . .

Man’s glory is his free will, for his ability to decide is a kind of act of G‑d. Man can use his free will to his own detriment, or as an expression of glory and dignity.

G‑d behaves with you as you behave with Him and others.

In every generation, "Pharaohs" arise who share the evil hope of the ancient Egyptian monarch

Is it possible to be spiritual and selfish at the same time?

When you witness the miracle of creation with your own eyes, faith is unnecessary. Or, is it?

The three qualities of the manna, and how they apply to us today

A story is told of a man who was driving about, desperate to find a parking spot. With no spots available, he called out, “Dear G‑d, give me a parking spot and I will pledge a thousand dollars to charity.”

Like divers who plunge to the depths of the sea in search of treasures, we submerge in the murky waters of a material world in order to uncover buried divinity. And like divers, we too must come up for oxygen. Prayer is that breath of fresh air...

The fledgling nation which left Egypt was in its spiritual infancy, and a return to the bankrupt values of the depraved Egyptian lifestyle was a real risk. War, therefore, had to be postponed for some time . . .

Is distributing equal food portions G-d’s way of demonstrating the importance of absolute equality amongst all humanity -- even at the expense of common sense?

Chabad's public image adapts to the times, but what singular core teaching serves as the basis for diverse activities such as meditation, underground schools, and public menorahs?

As Jews, we are faced by two different types of enemies; one G-d battles, the other is our responsibility

We might be at home, or in the synagogue. We might be praying in Hebrew, or in another language. What are we trying to do when we pray?

It seems that the old adage “money can’t buy happiness” has some truth to it. Although wealth has as much as tripled over the past fifty years, mental illness has increased at an equal rate.

No matter how much we try to problem-solve, a permanent solution always seems to remain tantalizingly over the horizon.

She didn’t have a single friend, couldn’t get along with anyone, and couldn’t maintain a relationship.

if G‑d wanted to miraculously ensure our survival in a desert, He needn’t have invented manna. He could have reduced our dependency on food. No appetite, no hunger, no problem . . .

Do you remember your bar or bat mitzva and the heady excitement of entering a new stage in life, with endless possibilities stretching before you?

So let’s say Moses turns up today. What would he liberate us from? What sort of miracles would he make this time around?

“Everything that exists on land,” says the Talmud, “also exists in the sea.” The Kabbalists apply this law in a broader sense as well . . .

There is no one Torah model of leadership. We are each called on to fill a number of roles .

Sometimes it feels like we are in an impossible situation, everything seems to be against us, and we are backed against a raging tide.

The song by the sea was sung by both the men and the women. Why is the song of the haftarah only that of a woman, Deborah?

The way of G-d is to "journey forth," making this world into a home for G-d.

Becoming free is a long, difficult journey. But we can only begin by splitting our sea, by realizing that only G‑d has power over us.

Think of everything you have as manna from heaven and you will never be dissatisfied.

Obstacles are miracles waiting to happen.