Revolting Developments - Appearances Can Be Misleading
The ongoing turmoil among the Israelites during their protracted desert sojourn reaches its height in this week's Torah portion, with the rebellion of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram, and their followers.
"He Stood between the Dead and the Living"
In the middle of Parashat Korach comes a short story that I find to be one of the most moving in all of Torah. It arrives unexpectedly in the midst of yet another chilling story of rebellion.
Strange Fruit
After seeing the infamous 1930 photograph by Lawrence Beitler, which depicts the mob lynching of two young black men, a Jewish high school teacher named Abel Meeropol wrote a haunting poem titled "Strange Fruit." The poem was first published in 1936 in The New York Teacher, a union magaz
Thinking before Speaking
People should think before they speak. This is common sense, you might say, but judging from the number of miscommunications and painful verbal exchanges that occur each day, this sense is not so common-even for Mosheh and Aharon in this week's parashah, Chukat.
Prayer After the Tornado
G-d beyond my understanding,
The sky has turned violent,
Crushing homes and lives,
Upending dreams,
Toppling the foundations of hope and sustenance.