Amanda Esraeilian, an advisor for Midwest NCSY and former International President, examines the census process of the Land of Israel described in Parshat Pinchas and is struck by how fairly the land is then divided between families. But life is rarely proceeds so justly. How can we rationalize living through those unjust experiences?
What can we learn from talking donkeys? Carol Rhine, COO of NY NCSY and Director of JUMP takes a look at a strange message sent to a king of Moab who tries to curse the Jewish people. What lessons can we take away from this and more recent events in Jewish history? Carol recorded this
What did Moshe Rabbeinu have to fear from an Amorite king, Og, in this week’s Torah portion? Avi Levy, an advisor for West Coast NCSY Alumni explains that Mitzvot generate zechus, merit, and Og had plenty of zechus building in reserve… Every good thing we do or prayer we say counts for the future!
As we plead to Hashem for the safe return of Gilad Shaar, Naftali Frenkel, and Eyal Yifrach, the three kidnapped Israeli yeshiva students, it is important to remember a very important lesson learned from the rebellion of Korach: everything is from Hashem! Josh Cohen is the Alumni Coordinator for West Coast NCSY as well as
How many of your decisions are based on your sense of self-worth? What about the actions of those around you? Rabbi Yaakov Frankiel, Director of Columbus NCSY, tells an Old Country parable of train travel that explains why the scouts returned from Canaan with such anguished news in this week’s parsha.
In Parshat Naso, why does the Torah identify the leader of each tribe and their relationship to the Mishkan in such repetitive detail? This week, an explanation from Rabbi Yaakov Glasser, the Emeritus International Director of Education for NCSY and now the Associate Dean of the Center for the Jewish Future at Yeshiva University. While
“Do you have a flag?” Other than waving in the breeze, what function does a flag have? Hillel Bierbrier, an advisor to NCSY/JSU Canada, provides an explanation. In this week’s parsha, Bamidbar, The Twelve Tribes of Israel are given degalim, banners, to assemble into camps under as they wander the desert. But why recognize these
Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan, NJ NCSY Alumnus and the JLIC Co-Educator at UCLA, examines the roots of the holiday of Lag BaOmer and discovers the courage — rather than despair — that Rabbi Akiva displayed in the face of the devastating death of so many of his students. Connect on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/myNCSYAlumni Follow on Twitter: https://twitter.com/ncsyalumni
Can empowerment come through submission? Rabbi Darren Levin, the Seif JLIC Co-Director at Johns Hopkins University, poses this question in light on parshat Behar, Sefirat HaOmer and the well-known comments of the late comedian and religious skeptic George Carlin. Discover what is liberating about the Torah. Connect on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/myNCSYAlumni Follow on Twitter: https://twitter.com/ncsyalumni Meet
Rabbi Ari Goldberg, the director of Pittsburgh NCSY, examines why for the mitzvah of Sefiras HaOmer, Counting the Omer, we don’t recite Shehechiyanu as we do for so many other annual Mitzvot. For him, like the the rhythms of nature, the traditions of hockey season and the calendar of NCSY events, it’s all about patience