Rabbi’s Blog
A weekly message from Rabbi Cantor Menachem Mirski, Ph.D.

Category Sermons

Focus on things within your sphere of influence – not on your feelings regarding things.

Thoughts on Parashat Balak. 

Technological progress and the speed of information exchange in the modern world has many advantages. We have at hand basically whatever we need: we can buy almost anything we want within minutes and have it in our hand the next day, we can order tickets to visit countries we have never been and book hotel rooms, we Continue Reading

Defeat in an Unholy Rivalry

Thoughts on parashat Korach. 

We live in times that are ideologically polarized. Although this polarization often seems to be more evident and severe in the “virtual world” (internet, media), the “real world” is not immune. It is then we experience its effects much more painfully. This “virtual polarization,” Continue Reading

Anger Breeds Chaos and Chaos Breeds Anger

Thoughts on Parashat Behaalotecha.

To set the stage: Van Nuys, one of the northern neighborhoods of Los Angeles, Monday J Continue Reading

Gniew rodzi chaos a chaos rodzi gniew

Refleksja nad paraszą Bahaalotecha.

Van Nuys, jedna z północnych dzielnic Los Angeles, poniedziałek ok. godziny 17. Dziennikarka jednej z telewizji rozmawia z kilkoma osobami zgromadzonymi przed sklepem spożywczym. Wszyscy z nich to Afroamerykanie, dwóch spośród mężczyzn trzyma dubeltówki. Jak wielu innych w okolicy, chronią Continue Reading

About Our Obligations to the Covenant

Thoughts on Parashat Bamidbar

This Sabbath we begin the Book of Numbers, in Hebrew Bamidbar (In the Desert). At the beginning of Parashat Bamidbar God asks Moses to conduct a census of the twelve tribes of Israel. Moses counts 603,505 men able to bear arms (20 to 60 years); the tribe of Levi, however, numbering 22,300 males aged one month and older, is counted separately. Almost Continue Reading

Thoughts on Parasha Behar-Bechukotai

How does the behavior of individual people determine the life of human communities? This very interesting question, which is especially relevant today, has been tackled by whole generations of philosophers dealing with social relations, by social scientists, social psychologists and other social sciences specialists throughout the centuries. Of course Continue Reading

Purifying the Realm of Order

Thoughts on Parashat Acharei Mot

Human beings dominated the world initially not by their physical power but by the power of intellect. The physical dominion came long after with the beginning of the modern industrial era. Over the centuries of this development we have gained more and more control over the natural environment and other living beings. By the forces of our intellect Continue Reading

The Bad Thing Happened. What’s Next?

Thoughts on Parashat Shemini

Pesach, the festival of freedom, has just ended. The concept of freedom is inextricably linked to the concept of choice. Life brings choices before us, maybe not all the time, but it does at least bring us in a position to choose. There are small choices and big choices. Small choices are usually easier to make because the consequences are less significant. Continue Reading

Freedom: Carved in Stone, but Not Given Unconditionally

Passover – a festival of freedom – has begun. The concept of freedom is one of those concepts that we might think we fully understand or at least know what they’re about. However, the limits of how we might understand freedom are not strictly defined; this is a wide-ranging and deep concept. Also, when we want to point to the essence of freedom, Continue Reading

On Devotion

Przeczytaj wersję po polsku

This week we begin reading Leviticus, the third book of the Torah. Leviticus contains detailed instructions regarding our ancient Temple ritual: animal sacrifice, priesthood, uncleanliness and purity, atonement and holiness. The Torah portion for this week is entirely devoted to animal sacrifices and they are: olah (burnt Continue Reading