Shows / Shlomo's Thoughts On The Torah
Episodes
- Shlomo's Thoughts On The Torah
Being Humble and Moving Mountains
Being humble does not mean being docile. It means to strive to do something but being aware that we need God's help in accomplishing our goal.
- Shlomo's Thoughts On The Torah
We Are Given The Tools To Create Our Future
God has invested in us talents and it is up to us to use them for the good. It is in our hands. We are not fated, we can change our future.
- Shlomo's Thoughts On The Torah
How To Avoid Amalek
The commandment to keep accurate weights and measures in business comes before the commandment to destroy Amalek. The meaning is simple. Unethical business…
- Shlomo's Thoughts On The Torah
Respect The Dignity of All
The Torah is clear that we are obligated to respect the dignity of all people. That is why we are commanded to pay our workers when it is their payday. The…
- Shlomo's Thoughts On The Torah
Rights & Obligations
When comparing the Torah model of society and the American we find an interesting concept. The Torah speaks of obligations, but within them are rights. The…
- Shlomo's Thoughts On The Torah
The Torah Laws on Kings
The Torah is for a constitutional monarchy. It places restrictions on the king and reminds him that he is not above the law.
- Shlomo's Thoughts On The Torah
The Pursuit of Justice
The pursuit of justice is one of the most important commandments of the Torah. Justice has to be administered equally to all and must be blind to the social or…
- Shlomo's Thoughts On The Torah
The Sabbatical Year & Societal Reset
The idea of the Sabbatical Year is for a social reset. To teach us that we have to help our fellows know how to make a living and to train them to do so.
- Shlomo's Thoughts On The Torah
Blessing God For The Simple Things
We sometimes forget to bless God for the simple things that He does for us. This week we are reminded not to take anything for granted.
- Shlomo's Thoughts On The Torah
Building The Future
The Torah wants us to remember the past but to work in building a future. That is why Tu B'Av comes 6 days after Tisha B'Av. As long as we continue as Jews, we…
- Shlomo's Thoughts On The Torah
We have A Communal Responsibility
The second paragraph of the Shema emphasizes that we have a communal responsibility to help. It is not enough that we are personally spiritual but that we are…
- Shlomo's Thoughts On The Torah
Love The Stranger In Your Midst
We are commanded to love the stranger in our midst because we were strangers in Egypt. As long as the stranger accepts our societal norms then we are required…
- Shlomo's Thoughts On The Torah
Be Grateful For The Mundane
One of the hardest things for us to be grateful with everything is going well. We bless our food before we eat and are hungry but more importantly, we bless it…
- Shlomo's Thoughts On The Torah
Remember The Past To Build The Future
Yesterday was the saddest day of the Jewish year, the 9th of Av, when we remember the disasters that befell us on that day. Six days later we celebrate the…
- Shlomo's Thoughts On The Torah
Why We Were Taken Out of Slavery
The 2 versions of the 10 Commandments tell us what the true purpose of God taking us out of Egypt. It was to be a light unto the nations. That we should show…
- Shlomo's Thoughts On The Torah
Teach Your Children Well
One of the most important lessons that we learn from this week's portion is the transfer of power to the next generation. But for that transfer to take place…
- Shlomo's Thoughts On The Torah
Believe in Your Mission
Moses stresses the sin of the spies because they did not believe that we would be able to overcome all the obstacles to liberate the Land of Israel. Lewis and…
- Shlomo's Thoughts On The Torah
Learning From Our Mistakes
The Book of Deuteronomy opens with Moses going over the history of the Jews in the Wilderness. This was to teach us to learn from our mistakes. Great leaders…
- Shlomo's Thoughts On The Torah
Strive For Peace, Not Appeasement
Aaron was known as a man of peace. He would work to make peace between people. But he was not for peace at any price. He would not sacrifice the truth for…
- Shlomo's Thoughts On The Torah
How Outsiders See Us
The weekly portion starts out with the Jews complaining to Moses about things but it ends with Balaam's blessings. It is to teach us that sometimes we have to…
- Shlomo's Thoughts On The Torah
Doing What We Don't Understand
Sometimes we are commanded by God to do things that we don't understand. Such as in the case of the Red Heifer. Just because we do not understand why we are…
- Shlomo's Thoughts On The Torah
Where Rebellion Leads
The story of Korach and his followers is a common theme throughout history. A prime example would be the Mutiny on the Bounty. What happened to the mutineers…
- Shlomo's Thoughts On The Torah
Lessons in True Leadership
Now for a Quick Devar TorahToday is Gimmel Tammuz, the third day of Tammuz, an important date in Jewish history that many people are not aware of. According to…
- Shlomo's Thoughts On The Torah
Looking Through The Correct Lens
One of the interesting sidelights in this week's parsha is the connection between the scouts and the mitzvah of tzitzit. When Moshe sends the delegation into…
- Shlomo's Thoughts On The Torah
Man Plans & God Laughs
The lesson of following the cloud in the wilderness is that we have to trust in God even if we have different plans. We have to realize that God knows what is…
- Shlomo's Thoughts On The Torah
Everyone Deserves A Second Chance
Pesach Sheni teaches us that we all deserve a second chance. The catch is that we have to be deserving of it. If we do not work to achieve it we won't get it.
- Shlomo's Thoughts On The Torah
Everything In Moderation
The Torah wants us to partake in the pleasures of life but in moderation. That is why the Nazir, a person who denies himself wine, grapes, a haircut or any…
- Shlomo's Thoughts On The Torah
Uniting Around The Torah
Every leader of a tribe brings an offering to the Tabernacle. It is the same offering but the Torah records each one. The lesson is that we are different but…
- Shlomo's Thoughts On The Torah
Family, The Glue of Society
The Torah views the family as the basis of society. That is why it goes out of its way to show that falsely accusing a wife of adultery is bad. That if the…
- Shlomo's Thoughts On The Torah
Memorial Day & The Torah
Today is Memorial Day in the United States. We have toacknowledge and respect those who gave their lives for us and the Constitution. The two are intertwined.
- Shlomo's Thoughts On The Torah
Reading The Book of Ruth on Shavupit
We read the Book of Ruth on Shavuout because it ties in all the aspects of the holiday. It concerns the harvest, which begins at this time. It shows that Ruth…
- Shlomo's Thoughts On The Torah
Keep Within Due Bounds
The Torah is to keep all within due bounds, from the most powerful in society to the least. Otherwise, there would be no society.
- Shlomo's Thoughts On The Torah
Torah Learning Creates a Meritocracy
We learn the Torah all night on Shavuout to emphasize that Torah scholarship is a meritocracy. It does not matter your background, what is important is what…
- Shlomo's Thoughts On The Torah
We Are All Under The Law
On Shavuout we celebrate receiving the Torah at Mt. Sinai. The importance of the Torah is that it shows us that morality is objective. There is no such thing…
- Shlomo's Thoughts On The Torah
Getting Ready For Nationhood
We have entered the month of Sivan. In a few days we will be celebrating the holiday of Shavuot. This is the traditional day that we received the Torah at Mt…
- Shlomo's Thoughts On The Torah
Recognizing Miracles Today
Today is the anniversary of the liberation of the Old City of Jerusalem during the Six Day War. Before this Jews were forbidden from praying at Jewish holy…
- Shlomo's Thoughts On The Torah
Greatness From The Outside
Two of the greatest people in our history were not born Jewish but joined the Jewish people. One was Jethro, the father-in-law of Moses, and the other was…
- Shlomo's Thoughts On The Torah
Counting Up To Sinai
We count the Omer up and not down. Usually, we count down in anticipation of an event. The reason for the counting up is that we are preparing to become a…
- Shlomo's Thoughts On The Torah
The Torah Is Our Constitution
The reason that the Mishkan, or Tabernacle was in the center of the Israelite camp in the wilderness was to teach the Jews that the Torah is their…
- Shlomo's Thoughts On The Torah
There's No Extra Person
The Book of Numbers is called this because there are so much census taking of the Jews. The question is why? The answer is to show that there are no extra…
- Shlomo's Thoughts On The Torah
United In Our Mission For God
The name of the portion of the week is Bemidbar, in the wilderness. The Jewish people were organized by tribes surrounding the Tabernacle. This was to show…
- Shlomo's Thoughts On The Torah
A Corrupt Society Cannot Stand
Nations do not suddenly cease to exist. They get destroyed from within through corruption and violence. Long before the barbarians conquered Rome it was…
- Shlomo's Thoughts On The Torah
Spreading the Wealth Properly
The Torah states that if you carry out the mitzvot then you will be blessed with a good economy. The meaning of this is that the wealth is spread by the…
- Shlomo's Thoughts On The Torah
The Liberty Bell & The Jubilee
It was no accident that the founding fathers chose a verse from this week's portion to be laced on the Liberty Bell. It sent the message that in America we are…
- Shlomo's Thoughts On The Torah
Holiness From The Bottom Up
The Book of Leviticus ends with a reminder that all the work that we do in the Tabernacle is irrelevant if our society does not reflect our moral and ethical…
- Shlomo's Thoughts On The Torah
Rules for a Just Society
The Torah is concerned what type of society do we want. That is why it lays down laws concerning the behavior of the Priests, that we celebrate time, that we…
- Shlomo's Thoughts On The Torah
Protecting Our Dignity
The Torah is concerned with the dignity of all members of society, even the poor. That is the reason that the poor have to glean the wheat so that they can say…
- Shlomo's Thoughts On The Torah
Evil Thoughts Have Evil Effects
We learn that we have to be careful in what we say. There are those who will take our words and use them to justify evil acts. One who speaks like that is as…
- Shlomo's Thoughts On The Torah
Know Whom You Represent
The priests in the Tabernacle had to be physically perfect. They could not have a blemish. The reason is that they were the spiritual representatives of the…
- Shlomo's Thoughts On The Torah
Spirituality Needs Structure
The theme of the Torah is that without structure then spirituality will fail. We need structure so that our society will attain the spirituality we crave.
- Shlomo's Thoughts On The Torah
Our Morality Reflects Our Piety
The Haftorah for this week comes from Amos where he points out that piety is not enough. We were chosen to build a just society. That it is not a one way…
- Shlomo's Thoughts On The Torah
Creating a Just Society
The Torah is clear, the reason for the offerings in the Tabernacle was so that we would create a better society based on God's laws.
- Shlomo's Thoughts On The Torah
Liberation Of The Land
Today is Israel Independence Day. The story of the liberation of our land from foreign intruders is nothing less than miraculous. We celebrate the independence…
- Shlomo's Thoughts On The Torah
The Importance of Ritual
The reason that Acherei Mot comes before Kedoshim is to teach us that our rituals are what make our good actions possible.
- Shlomo's Thoughts On The Torah
Freom Despair to Happiness
During the month of Iyar we go from the sadness of loss to the happiness of success. We mourn the soldiers who fell in defending our people and land to a…
- Shlomo's Thoughts On The Torah
The Sanctity of Creating Life
Creating life is holy if done properly. There is a problem in Israel in that the sperm of a fallen soldier can be used in invitro fertilization so that the…
- Shlomo's Thoughts On The Torah
Gossip Is Not Innocent Talk
We don't realize the damage we do when we gossip about others. We should strive to talk about issues and philosophical ideas, not gossip.
- Shlomo's Thoughts On The Torah
You Cannot Reason With A Rabid Dog
One of the mistakes that we make is that we think we can reason with anti-Semites. Their hatred is so great that it defies reason. As was told to me many years…
- Shlomo's Thoughts On The Torah
Metzora Is A Spiritual Disease
The Parsha deals with a spiritual disease caused by lashon hara, gossiping. Lashon hara is true but negative. It is bad for everyone involved.
- Shlomo's Thoughts On The Torah
The Importance of Split Hooves
There is a spiritual and physical connection between the laws of kosher animals. It reminds us that as humans we are both spiritual and physical beings.