Eingebetteter Bild-Link

Eingebetteter Bild-Link

— Rabbi Berel Wein (@historyrabbi)

In My Opinion

Rivalries

Being raised as an only child in my parents‘ home I was spared the experiences and challenges of sibling rivalries. Not having anyone to compete with I was blissfully unaware that there were others who felt that they were also entitled to parental love, weekly allowances and unlimited bathroom privileges. No one ever dared to wear my clothing, play with my toys or read my books without my permission. Naturally, in school and yeshiva there were constant rivalries but in the main they were never really personal or long lasting. Yet, as all of the biblical commentators point out to us, the book of Bereshith, which we have recently completed in the yearly cycle of Torah readings, is…

 — Rabbi Berel Wein (@historyrabbi)

Yitro

The mores present in today’s Western world seem to suggest that the Ten Commandments are, at best, recommendations but certainly not legal or moral mandatory obligations. The commandments that relate to money and to sexual probity are publicly violated, almost with impunity, on a seemingly daily basis. This is true with regard to all religious groups, including ours as well. One would have thought that after more than thirty-three hundred years of human experience regarding these matters, the message of Sinai would have finally taken root in the Jewish and human soul. But apparently we are still standing before that desert mountain awaiting Divine instruction as to how to conduct our…