ב"ה
Having children is an act of faith. Faith that the world is going somewhere
good. Faith that in our children's lifetimes it will be a better place than it
is today. How do we know this, when there's so much evidence to the contrary? We
just do.
Leviticus 12:1-15:33 Torah Reading for Week of April 22-28, 2001 
The dynamics of birth and the covenant of circumcision, the power of speech and
the plague of whiteness, contaminating
blood and purifying pools of water--and what it all means according to sages and
mystics from Moses to today.The Parshah in a Nutshell Full Parshah summary with commentary More on the Parshah from the Chassidic Masters
From every incident in a person's life, one can acquire profound insight into
the service of the Creator. So says the holy Baal Shem Tov. Fortified by this
idea, I began my descent in the morgue elevator of the Department of Anatomy and
Cell Biology at McGill University.
It came to pass that the two men concluded their sojourn on earth and their souls stood before the heavenly court, where the life of every man is weighed upon the balance scales of divine judgment.An advocate-angel placed the scholar's many virtues in the right cup of the balance scales: his many hours of Torah study, his meditative prayers, his frugality and honesty. But then came the prosecuting angel, and placed a single object on the other side of the scales...
Torah and Freud agree that there are destructive forces and instincts wired
into the universe. How is it that Torah and Freud reach such different
conclusions about our capacity for bonding?Freud says that our selfish and destructive instincts are curbed by the ethical rules of civilization. However, he describes a “catch 22”, in that these rules often cause guilt, neurosis and an aggressive backlash of resentment. How does Torah resolve this problem?
I stood between the train cars, wind blowing in my hair, watching the Mexican countryside flash by. In twelve more hours, my wife and two children and I would get off the train, ride a bus for several hours, and then take a boat to a place where no one knew us. The palm-thatched palapa in which we would live cost $150 per year. I would live off the land with my hands, my machete, and a crude, Mexican-made fishing device to supply most of our food.I was free! |
 The Parshah in a Nutshell
|