Shlomo's Thoughts on the Torah

There are many smart people who make bad decisions. They have all the facts but they fail to understand them. They lack the wisdom of the Torah.

Just as the desert is inhospitable and if we do not know how to survive in it, so too, the Jewish people without God's help will perish in the desert of assimilation.

Today we celebrate the miracle of the 6 Day War in 1967. There were so many miracles during that was that the US military does not teach about it since they say that the victory was the hand of God.

Tomorrow is Jerusalem Day, the anniversary of the liberation of the Old City of Jerusalem in 1967. For those of us who were aware at that time, we recognize the miracle of that liberation.

When discussing the descendants of Moses and Aaron the Torah misses Moses's descendants. The truth is that we are his descendants as long as we follow the Torah.

Today is the Israel Day Parade in New York. Now, more than ever it will be necessary for Jews to unite in support of Israel and show those who hate us that we will not give into their lies and hatred.

After the curses the Torah reminds us that we all have intrinsic value. That each human is valuable. Unlike other cultures we do not kill those who have deformities. We value each life.

The hardest thing to remember is that our success depends on God. We are required to work for success but without moral code of the Bible our society will fall.

This week's portion warns of the danger of the slippery slope. That a person thinks he is doing something nice but is allowing others to take advantage of his kindness for bad purposes.

The curses that are mentioned in this week's portion are not extraordinary. This is what happens to an ordinary nation. If you have a special relationship to God then prove it by your actions.

The punishments mentioned in this week's portion are really what will happen if we do not have a just society.

The reason that we lost the Bar-Kochba revolt was that we did not respect one another. This is the lesson we should take from the loss.

Many people will refuse to do something because "It's not my job". This is not a Jewish idea. It does not matter to the Torah. When something has to get done then it is everybody's job.

It is no accident that the successful revolutions put God at the center and the revolutions that degenerated into dictatorship put man at the center.

Pesach Sheni is the second chance for those who could not bring an Passover offering during Passover but were unable to. The fact is that one has to do the right thing. Saying I'm sorry is not enough, action is required.

While we Jews believe that Jewish law was given at Mt. Sinai, we recognize that the rabbis are entitled to interpret that law as they understand it.

The Jubilee year is the great reset of society. The command for it contains the famous phrase, "Proclaim liberty throughout the land and to the inhabitants thereof." This means that we have equal opportunity to succeed.

Keeping the Sabbatical year is showing that one believes in God by refraining from work on the land for a year. Much like keeping the Sabbath and kosher is showing one believes in God.

The story of the blasphemer seems out of place until we realize that the message that the Torah is sending us is that any society that is not based on the Bible is transitory. Morality and law must be constant.

The Torah refers to Passover as the holiday of Matzot. The reason is to teach us that leaving Egypt was the first step to becoming a nation. We had to learn what it means to be free.

The laws concerning the priests' behavior can only be understood in the context that the priest were the spiritual leaders, so their actions mattered.

Today is Israel Independence Day. It is in the middle of the Omer, a period of mourning for our loss in the Bar Cochba revolt. This is not accident. It shows God's hand in our lives.

Today is the Memorial Day for the fallen in the Israel Defense Forces. Those who make the outrageous accusations against the IDF and defend Hamas should know that they are defending anti-Semites and racists. It is that simple.

The Torah points out that one of the duties of the priests in the Temple was the way they looked. We have to remember that they represent God to the people and the people to God.

The Torah admonishes judges not to pervert justice and to have accurate weights and measures. The biggest problem in the developing nations is corruption.