Rabbi Harold Kushner told a story of a man who stopped attending his usual synagogue and was now frequenting another minyan. One day he happened to meet the rabbi of his previous synagogue, and the rabbi asked him where he was praying these days. The man answered: “I am praying at a small minyan led by Rabbi Cohen.”

The rabbi was stunned. “Why would you want to pray there with that rabbi. I am a much better orator, I am more famous, I have a much larger following.”
The man replied: “Yes, but in my new synagogue the rabbi has taught me to read minds.”

The rabbi was surprised. “Alright, then, read my mind.”

The man said: “You are thinking of the verse in Psalms, ‘I have set the Lord before me at all times.’”

The Torah describes Noah in glowing terms, as "tsaddik tamim", righteous and pure. Of all the people in his generation, only Noah is singled out for being a good, upright person who walked in the ways of God. The rest of society had become horribly corrupt, evil beyond salvation.

How did Noah feel living in such a society? How did others relate to him?

I imagine that Noah was universally despised by the members of his society. They must have been irked by Noah's refusal to follow in the idolatrous and sinful behaviors that were the norms for everyone else. Noah must have been ostracized as a self-righteous, arrogant man who thought himself too good to mingle with others. People don't like a "goody goody" who shuns their way of life.

This week's Torah portion includes Jacob's last words to his sons. He described his fourth son, Judah, as a lion, and stated that the scepter of kingship would never depart from Judah (and his descendants). All the brothers (and their tribes) would turn to Judah for leadership. What did Judah do to deserve this singular role?

The answer may be suggested in the story of Joseph's threat to keep Benjamin in Egypt as his servant. The brothers, believing that Joseph was a ruler of Egypt, were in a terrible quandary. They knew that their father Jacob would be devastated by the loss of Benjamin. They knew that they had to find a way to confront Joseph and make him change his mind.

This week we read of the deaths of Sarah and Abraham--the founding couple of ethical monotheism and of the people of Israel.  Their lives have left a profound imprint on human history; as we ponder their lives and deaths, it would be well to ponder the meaning of life for ourselves. A rabbinic parable offers keen perspective. (The following is drawn from my book, "Losing the Rat Race, Winning at Life," Urim Publications, 2005.)

With the passing of Yitzhak Navon on November 7, 2015, we’ve come to an end of an era. Born in Jerusalem on April 9, 1921, he was a proud and vocal scion of Sephardic culture and tradition. His family had lived in Jerusalem since the 17th century, descendants of the Jews exiled from Spain in 1492. He was part of the old Sephardic yishuv that had been dwelling in the land of Israel for centuries. Few of these Sephardic veterans are still alive, and none has had a larger impact than Yitzhak Navon.

Researchers at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine and the Ferkauf Graduate School of Psychology of Yeshiva University conducted extensive studies on longevity. In one of these studies, they focused on 243 Ashkenazic Jews (average age 97.6 years, 75% women) to determine whether there is a genetic basis to living long lives. Their findings were reported in an article published online May 21, 2012, in the journal “Aging.”

"The Mitzvot are the dictates of God, and we are bound to obey them as a servant obeys his master."  This is the topic of a paper assigned to a cousin of mine, who is taking a class in Jewish studies. The class is studying various religious movements within Judaism, and the above statement was meant to characterize the Orthodox view. Obviously, the way the statement is phrased paints a narrow picture of Orthodoxy-- implying that we are compelled to do mitzvot unthinkingly, and we function essentially as  mindless, mechanical slaves.

In reviewing the history of the Israelites since the Exodus, Moses reminded them of the two sets of Tablets of the Law. The first set was given with much fanfare at Mount Sinai. Yet, when Moses found the Israelites worshipping the golden calf, he threw down the stone Tablet and shattered it into pieces. He then ascended the mountain a second time, after which he brought down the second set of Tablets of the Law.

The New York Times of February 6, 2015, included a long article under the caption: “Strains Grow Between Israel and Many Jews in the U.S.” The article focused on unhappiness with the monopoly of Israel’s Orthodox Chief Rabbinate in matters of marriage, divorce and conversion to Judaism.