Parashat Yitro 5780 by Meir Sendor The pace of life is different in Israel. It’s not just about fast or slow, frenetic or relaxed. It’s a sense of flow, a kind of synchronicity. It’s especially true in Tzfat, where a…
Fluid Dynamics
Parashat Beshallach 5780 by Meir Sendor One of the innovative Israeli startups making an important contribution to struggling rural communities in Third World countries is Watergen, which has perfected an atmospheric water generator to efficiently and inexpensively precipitate moisture from…
The Real Deal
Parashat Bo 5780 by Meir Sendor Rabbi Shaul Yedidya Eleazar Taub (1886-1947), the scholarly and musically talented Modzitzer Rebbe, ztz”l, lived through two world wars, narrowly escaped Poland as the Nazis were closing in, made his way via Japan to…
Holy Chutzpah
Parashat Va’era 5780 Meir Sendor As leaders from all over the world converge on Jerusalem this week to commemorate the seventy-fifth anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz, it’s clear that a large part of the battle between Israel versus the…
Armed and Ready
Parashat Shemot 5780 by Meir Sendor Rabbi Yosi in the Gemara Hagigah (12b) says: Woe to people who see but don’t know what they are seeing, who stand but don’t know what they are standing on. The earth, on what…
Unrealpolitik
Parashat Vayechi 5780 by Meir Sendor In the Mishnah Avot, Rabban Yochanan ben Zakai asks his top students their opinion on the most direct path to a virtuous life: משנה מסכת אבות פרק ב משנה ט [רבן יוחנן בן זכאי]…
Rise Up
Parashat Vayigash 5780 by Meir Sendor As this week’s parashah opens, Yehudah steps up to Yosef, who he thinks is a powerful, antagonistic Egyptian noble, to defend his youngest brother Binyamin against a false charge of theft. The situation seems…
Mind the Gap
Parashat Miketz, Hanukkah 5780 by Meir Sendor I was teaching an introductory session on Jewish meditation with a sincere and thoughtful group of Jewish college-age students in Tzfat this week. To get a sense of what level to start at…
Crossroads
Parashat Vayeshav 5780 by Meir Sendor At the heart of this week’s parashah is a strange encounter that seems like a minor and unnecessary detail in the narrative, yet turns out to be pivotal. Yosef is sent by his father…
Cold Comfort
Parashat VaYishlach 5780 by Meir Sendor “When Rabbi [Yehudah haNasi] would need to go to the government [in Rome] he would look over this parashah, and he would not accept a Roman escort on his return. One time, he did…
