Jewish Recovery Center » Past Parshas

Eikev

Which way are you going? “This shall be the reward because you hearken to these ordinances” (Deuteronomy 7:12) The Hebrew word for “because” in this verse is eikev, which also means “a footstep”. Rabbi Moshe Leib of Sasov said that a person should consider each step one takes. Life is a mission, an assignment, which carries with it responsibility. Each step one takes is either in the direction of fulfilling one’s assignment, hence it is...

Vaeschanan

“And you, who are cleaving to God, you are alive this day” (Deuteronomy 4:4). Chasam Sofer says that a person’s evil instinct tells him that he can never meet all the Torah’s demands all his life. Inasmuch as that is futile, one may as well give up the battle now. Moses tells us, “Don’t undertake an entire lifetime challenge. Just do it this day. Tomorrow you can deal with tomorrow’s challenge.” If you tell an...

Devarim

“God, your God was with you, you lacked for nothing” (Deuteronomy 2:7) The wise King Solomon said, “One who desires money is never satisfied with what he has” (Ecclesiastes 5:9). So it is with all physical pursuits. They are insatiable. An alcoholic saw a sign on a tavern, “Grand opening! All the booze you want for $1.” He promptly ordered $2 worth. Moses is telling us that the closer we are to God, the less...

Faith in the Face of Adveristy

Dear friends, In the Talmud we read about Nahum Ish Gamzu and his disciple Rabbi Akiba who were men of endless faith in G-D Almighty. They were certain that anything that happened in their life was good. They understood that nothing happens by accident or chance; that nothing happens without G-d knowing it. Simply stated, G-d is good, therefore, how can anything bad happen? Of course, unpleasant things sometimes do happen, but that does not...

Biblical Gratitude

Dear Friends. This weeks Recovery thought on gratitude, is dedicated to my dear friend Mr. Sid Goodman, founder and CEO of Caron Renaissance. This week’s Torah portion opens with a discussion of the Mitzvah of “Bikkurim,” the First Fruits. Upon the ripening of the first fruits of the season (any of the seven species associated with the Land of Israel) a farmer would fill a basket with the ripened fruits and bring them to the...

The Stubborn And Rebellious Son

Inheritance Have you ever seen that bumper sticker? “Insanity is hereditary. You get it from your kids.” I think a lot of parents of addicts would agree with that. The funny thing is, I think the opposite is true. I think – and this is just my take on things – that addiction is hereditary in the sense that a child who is an addict gets it from a parent who is a codependent. Please...

Wholeheartedness

“Be wholehearted with the Lord your G-D” (Deuteronomy 18:13), is the concluding verse of the fourth reading in this week’s Torah portion. In the preceding verses the Torah discourages and prohibits one from being a sorcerer, a soothsayer, a diviner, or a charmer, and or using the services of such individuals, we are required to instead: “Be wholehearted with the Lord your G-D.” Rashi, the classic Biblical commentator, explains the prohibition against sorcery and the...

Choices & Empowerment

Dear friends, This weeks Torah portion begins with the words, “Behold I set before you today a blessing and a curse, the blessing if you will heed the commandments of the Lord” and the verse continues “and the course if you will not heed the commandments of the Lord Your G-D.” A few chapters later in Deuteronomy 30, there are two additional versus with a similar theme. Verse 30:15 reads “Behold I have set before...

Getting inside the G-D zone

Parents are supposed to love their children unconditionally, God is our father in heaven, shouldn’t God love us unconditionally? why is his love and commitment towards us contingent upon us following his rules? In the opening words of this weeks Torah portion we read ” and it will be, because you will heed these ordinances and keep them and perform, that the Lord, your God, will keep for you the covenant and the kindness that...

Is not sinning sufficient?

Dear Friends In this weeks Torah reading, Moses continues to recount the trials and tribulations encountered by the Jews during their forty year desert odyssey. Moses recalls “Your eyes have seen what the Lord did” after the Midianite Women seduced, and lured Jews into idol worship, “For every man who went after the idols” recalls Moses, is no longer here. But, says Moses “You who cleave to the Lord your G-D are alive, all of...

Which side are we on?

Dear friends, This week we begin reading the fifth book of the Torah, the book of Devarim or Deuteronomy. The book opens with Moses reminiscing on the turbulent forty years, he and the Jewish people had the pleasure of spending together in the Sinai desert, just as they are about to enter promised land. The verse states “These are the words that Moses spoke to all Israel” and the versus continue “On that side of...

Constancy and Motion

We read two Torah portions this week. The first is named Mattot, the plural of Matteh, which means “the tribes.” The Portion begins with the words “Moses spoke to the heads of the tribes (Mattot).” In Hebrew the word Matteh also means “a staff” which is a firm stick cut from a tree, aptly chosen to describe the tribes of Israel. The second portion we read is named Massei, which means “journeys,” this portion lists the various stages in the journey...