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Is Life a Blessing or a Curse? #844

08/30/2024 05:00:00 PM

Aug30

Rabbi Irwin Huberman

Parashat: Re'eh

“See, this day, I set before you blessing and curse.” (Deuteronomy 11:26)

Is Life a Blessing or a Curse?

Good morning, or good afternoon, or good evening.

What kind of day are you having?

Are you tired, alert, cynical, full of joy or just “meh?”

Are you convinced the world is out to get you, or are you filled...Read more...

What is in Your Heart? #843

08/23/2024 05:00:30 PM

Aug23

Rabbi Irwin Huberman

Parashat: Eikev

“God has made you travel in the wilderness these past 40 years that he may test you by hardship to learn what was in your hearts.” (Deuteronomy 8:2)

What is in Your Heart?

Every few years, I hold a session for people interested in developing an “ethical will.”

Most of us have written—or have considered writing—a physical will to...Read more...

Learning Judaism's 11th Commandment #842

08/16/2024 05:00:00 PM

Aug16

Rabbi Irwin Huberman

Parashat: Va’etchanan

Learning Judaism's 11th Commandment

According to our tradition, two Torahs were given on Mount Sinai.

On that day, Moses held up two tablets—the Ten Commandments. The first five Commandments focused on the Israelites’ relationship with God. The second five governed how people should interact with each other.

The Ten...Read more...

The Plague of Remaining Silent #841

08/09/2024 05:07:00 PM

Aug9

Rabbi Irwin Huberman

Parashat: Devarim

The Plague of Remaining Silent

The great Sage, Rabbi Chanina Ben Dosa, wrote almost 2,000 years ago, “I have learned much from my teachers, more from my colleagues and most from students.” 

Who among us not enlightened our friends with some pearl of wisdom by a son, daughter or grandchild? Teachers have often been inspired by the comments and...Read more...

The Stories of Our LIves  #840

08/02/2024 05:00:00 PM

Aug2

Rabbi Irwin Huberman

Parashat: Matot-Masei

The Stories of Our Lives

Growing up, it was just a walk-up apartment, just like hundreds on our street in Montreal.

We were a middle-class family, living on the edge of suburbia on a street full of second-generation Jewish families. 

The address was 3736 Mackenzie Street. Our phone number was REgent 8 -7079. It was on that street...Read more...

Feminism and the Torah  #839

07/26/2024 05:55:00 PM

Jul26

Rabbi Irwin Huberman

Parashat: Pinchas

"Let not our father's name be lost for his clan just because he had no son"

Feminism and the Torah

I have a question for you regarding the very nature of God.

Do you regard God as all knowing, perfect, and in full control of the world?

Or is it also possible that God, like humans, can be open to criticism and change?

This week, the Torah makes a case for an evolving God, as...Read more...

Emails - Are They Private? #838

07/19/2024 04:00:00 PM

Jul19

Rabbi Irwin Huberman

Parashat: Balak

Emails - Are They Private?

I have a question about the personal emails you write every day.

Do you regard them as confidential letters or open postcards?

It’s an ethical question that revolves around the Jewish understanding of privacy—and its genesis dates back more than 1,000 years ago to the time of the great Sage, Rabbeinu Gershom (960-1040).

Rabbeinu Gershom was once asked,...Read more...

 Jews in a Changing World #837

07/12/2024 05:00:33 PM

Jul12

Rabbi Irwin Huberman

Parashat: Chukat

Jews in a Changing World

We—as Jews—live in a different world today.

No matter where we live, a more visible, more bold and aggressive Muslim community has sprung up around us.

This past weekend, I returned to Montreal—where I was born.

It began as a road trip to the United States-Canada border 35 miles away, so that Patte could complete her Nexus/Global Entry...Read more...

"Are We There Yet?" #836

07/05/2024 05:37:00 PM

Jul5

Rabbi Irwin Huberman

Parashat: Korach

"Are We There Yet?"

During this holiday weekend, the American Automobile Association estimates that more than 71 million people will travel the roads of our nation.

So, how many million times do you think the following scenario will play out?

You are driving along the Long Island Expressway or Interstate 95, with hours of highway ahead of you, and one or more young voices waft forward from...Read more...

Lessons From a Flip Phone  #835

06/28/2024 05:00:00 PM

Jun28

Rabbi Irwin Huberman

Parashat: Sh’lach Lecha 

Lessons from a flip phone

This past week, I experienced a proud “grandfather moment.”

Our grandson, Mason, 16, made an important $100 purchase. His iPhone had finally reached the point of no repair, and rather than insist on a new $2,000 model, he walked into a phone store, and made a request that few clerks hear these days.

“I’d like to buy a flip phone.” I can...Read more...

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