• Investing in Israel: Challenges, Sacrifices, and Hope for the Future

    This week Israel feels a bit like the stock market.   The overall trend is always up, it’s certainly the best investment over time, but in the short term its unpredictable and there sure are ups and downs.  Though I am no expert, this seems to have been an unprecedented year in Israeli politics –…

  • Spirituality in the Gritty Reality: Lessons from the Spies

    In this week’s Torah portion, Shelach, the Jewish people have completed the short trek from Mount Sinai to the Land of Israel.  God tells them to send the heads of each tribe as spies to spy out the Land of Israel.  After 40 days the spies return. Ten spies bring a bad report of the…

  • Lessons from the Jewish People’s Recoil at the Promised Land

    In this week’s Torah portion, Shelach, the Jewish people have completed the short trek from Mount Sinai to the Land of Israel.  God tells them to send the heads of each tribe as spies to spy out the Land of Israel.  After 40 days the spies return. Ten spies bring a bad report of the…

  • Empathy Beyond the Surface

    This week we read the Parsha of Shelach.  The Jewish people send spies into the land, and they return with a bad report.  The people accept the report and as a result must spend 40 years traveling through the desert.   Why do the spies, who are princes of their tribes, give a bad report?…