Rabbi Avi Heller
Does God Hate Us?
Posted by Rabbi Avi Heller | Tags: Devarim
This week, we begin the final book of the Torah, the book of Devarim. The Rabbis often called this book Mishna Torah (not to be confused with Maimonides's work of the same name). This literally means the "reviewed teaching of the Torah" because it reiterates - albeit with some changes - many of the...
Members of the Tribe
Posted by Rabbi Avi Heller | Tags: Korach
As I was walking off a brisk run in Central Park last Sunday - wishing I had some kosher Gatorade[1] -- I noticed an old man behind a table polishing awards. The attractive glass plates were for the top finishers by gender in various age categories. The guy polishing them and placing them neatly on...
Spies and Climbers
Posted by Rabbi Avi Heller | Tags: Shlach
I remember being in Israel during the hot summer of 2005. The whole country was tensely debating the question of Israel's unilateral disengagement from Gaza. Everywhere you looked, there were orange banners flying and the slogan "yehudi lo megaresh yehudi.[1]" Even those who supported the...
Summer Lovin'
Posted by Rabbi Avi Heller | Tags: Beha'alotcha
My son, Nadav, used to think that the ark in shul was the Torah's house ("is that where the Torah lives, Abba?") and that - just like we do - it comes out sometimes to go to shul. And - just like we do to each other - we hug it and kiss it when we meet. He never asked me if the Torah also gets to go...
Lilmod U'Lelamed (To Learn and to Teach)
Posted by Rabbi Avi Heller | Tags: Bamidbar
There is a story told (in Kiddushin 66a[1]) about King Yannai, who was one of the Hasmonean kings of the Second Temple period (2nd century BCE). Though he had a lust for power and glory, he managed at first to have a good relationship with the Rabbis, partially due to his wife's good influence....
Add It Up
Posted by Rabbi Avi Heller | Tags: Behar, Bechukotai
Counting is a major part of the Jewish tradition. The very first section of the Torah enumerates the seven days of creation, counting out each day and culminating in Shabbat. The Torah repeatedly counts the children of Israel, the years of the slavery in Egypt, the life spans of Biblical figures,...
Lag Ba-Omer and Upsheren
Posted by Rabbi Avi Heller | Tags: Lag BaOmer
As many of my dear readers already know, our youngest son Uriel's upsheren, or first haircut, will take place on Sunday May 16. He was born right before Shavuot and so this is also his third birthday party on the Jewish calendar. He's excited about having a party and getting his hair cut. (His hair...
Concrete
Posted by Rabbi Avi Heller | Tags: Achrei Mot, Kedoshim
I heard a story in the name of the acclaimed Israeli psychologist Haim Ginott about a woman who won the teacher-of-the-year award. She was celebrated for her excellent pedagogy, her lesson plans and her students' test scores. A week after all the pomp and circumstance, she found two students outside...
Achievement Fatigue
Posted by Rabbi Avi Heller | Tags: Tazria, Shmini
A strange thing happened to me after I ran my first marathon: I fell to pieces. I don't mean physically, though I was VERY sore for a few days. For a few weeks, I lost my focus at work, was irritable at home and felt a little depressed and out-of it. I could not seem to muster enthusiasm for...
Spiritual Momentum
Posted by Rabbi Avi Heller | Tags: Shmini
When you find a typo in a document, it can usually be ascribed to insufficient proofreading or sufficient illiteracy. However, when the Torah misspells a word, as it does in this week's portion, we should be on our guard for deeper meaning. At the end of a long section dealing with the kosher laws,...
