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December


Vayigash – There Are Four Jewish New Years, and This Ain’t One

Keywords: calendar, carpenter, cattle, celebrate, chuvah, Egyptian, enjoy, fun, Goshen, Joseph, memory, moment, New Year, New Year's Eve, Pesach, Rosh Hashannah, secular, solstice, time, trees, Tu Bishvat

Miketz – Where Are the Miracles?

Keywords: Auschwitz, boots, conversion, family, field, generation, grandfather, grandparents, Greeks, Hanukkah, holocaust, Jewish family, Maccabees, miracle, oil, Pakistan, Passover, Poland, Proverbs, Rabbi Leo Jung, Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch, soul, stone, Taliban, Treblinka, victory

Vayeshev – Prison, Torture, and the Joseph Story

Keywords: America, anger, argue, argument, Avram Twersky, baker, CIA, cognitive dissonance, David Petraeus, debate, detainees, immoral,innocent, instinct, Iran, Israel, Japanese, John Brennan, John McCain, Joseph, moral, morality, opinion, Peggy Noonan, prison, prisoners, revenge, righteous, Rosewater, Talmud, torture, waterboard

November


Vayetzei – Jacob’s Odyssey: From Heel to Hero

Keywords: angel, birthright, bless, deceiver, despair, dreams, Esau, family, fighting, fooled, growth, heel, hope, Hosea, Israel, Joseph, Leah, loss, pain, perfect, perfection, Rachel, religious school, second-born, stasis, teacher, war, willing, Yakov, Ysrael

Toldot – Israel’s Blessing

Keywords: Baruch Goldstein, birthright, bridge, challenge, children, culture, DNA, doors, enemies, enemies, executive order, fighting, fringe, immigration, Israel, Jacob, Joshua, Los Angeles Times, Moses, Muslims, opportunity, parents, problem, Rabbi Abraham Twerski, Rabbi Yochanan ben Zakkai, rebellion, Rivkah, struggle, triumph

October


Noach: Facing Our Fears

Keywords: acrophobia, anti-Semitism, arachnophobia, ark, cocoon, carcass, crimes, cruelty, disasters, dogs, dove, Edward Gibbons, Facing Fear With Faith, fear, follies, greed, guilty, history, internship, love, Mark Angel, Molly, monster, mountain, Noah, olive branch, panic, peace, poll, Portuguese Water Dogs, raven, Ruby, Sam Wells

Bereshit: How It All Began

Keywords: animal, Aristotle, book, creation, David Hume, faith, Greek, Heraclitus, high school, humanity, induction, law, life, magic, Maimonides, meaning, mind, museum, natural laws, order, philosophy, prayer, purpose, roulette, science, senses, Socrates, soul, source, sports, stories, superstition, Talmud, UCLA

Kol Nidre: Give Your Children Vision

Keywords: Abraham, Baal Shem Tov, basketball, birds and bees, Charlie Rose, child, college, comedy, David, disillusion, Ebola, Elijah, Hasidic, Hungarian, Isaac, Israel, Jacob, James Salter, joke, Manoah, Matt Bai, mitzvah, news, nobility, plague, psalms, Samson, Sarah, scandal, shma, snark, sports heroes, Steve Jobs, virus, visionary, warrior

September


Ha’Azinu: Repentence, Fast and Slow

Keywords: advertising, agree, Amos Tversky, anchoring effect, angry, bank teller, bread, chuva, confirmation bias, Daniel Kahneman, decision, disagree, economics, fast thinking, fault, feminist, heads, instincts, irrational, Linda, magazine, mind, psychology, quiz, slow thinking, sports, sunken costs, tails

Rosh Hashanah II – Rabbi David Wolpe and Rabbi Bradley Artson Discuss the Torah

Keywords: Abraham, Balzac, beheading, Better Angels of Our Nature, blessing, book, Canaanites, Christopher Hitchens, debate, Esau, evil, farming, genocide, Gilgamesh, Greek, Hawaii, heretic, Hittites, Homer, Honoré de Balzac, Iliad, Isaac, Jacob, Joshua, Moses, Neanderthal, Norman, organic, pious, Rebecca, rebellious, San Francisco, Sarah, Saxon, slaughter, slave, slavery, Steven Pinker, stone, suicide, sword, technology, trouble, uneasy, Zionism, Zionists

1st Day of Rosh Hashanah – People of Paradox

Keywords: 1914, 1983, absurdity, algorithm, Angela Merkel, anti-Semitism, Assyrian Empire, Azerbaijan, Babylonian Empire, blessing, blind, Boko Harum, Byzantine Empire, Calcutta, China, clever, cleverness, Congo, cousins, danger, enemies, Esau, Europe, Franz Ferdinand, friends, funeral, Gavrilo Princip, golf, gratitude, hatred, Iran, Isaac, Jacob, joke, Kaiser Wilhelm II, King George V, mandate, Martian, missile, money, Montana, nation, New York Times, Ottoman Empire, paradox, persecution, Persia, power, prayers, Roman Empire, Ronald Regan, ruthless, siren, smart, Soviet Union, spirituality, Stanislav Petrov, threat, Tibet, tragedy, Tsar Nicholas II, United States, unthinkable, vicious, wealth, Westwood, WWI

Nitzavim-Vayeilech: Moses the Prophet and David the King

Keywords: Aaron, Amazon, answer, betrayal, bookstore, Canada, children, David, David Ben-Gurion, deeds, desert, Diaspora, dreamer, dreams, frustration, government, Honoré de Balzac, Joshua, land, law, Mexico, milk and honey, Miriam, Moses, Oz, parking, perfection, prophet, question, reality, repentance, responsibility, Sinai, Solomon Schechter, statesman, wedding, Zion

Ki Tavo: Good and Evil

Keywords: apologize, assault, atrocities, beheading, chuva, collective, confession, confessional, doctor, elevator, evil, Goethe, gossip, growth, innocent, introspection, Kotzker Rebbe, ladder, love, mirrors, Ray Rice, reflect, sin, singles, Socrates, speech, Yom Kippur

Ki Teitzei: The Known Unknowns

Keywords: awareness, Chaim Halberstam, change, confessional, consciousness, Donald Rumsfeld, ego, government, honest, infinite, issues, known, kotzker rebbe, magic wand, Novalis, perfect, perspective, repentance, Rosh Hashanah, self-knowledge, soul, teshuva, unknown, vulnerable, Yom Kippur

August


Shoftim : Ferguson and Cushing: America’s History and Destiny

Keywords: absence, African-American, Alonzo Cushing, America, black, Civil War, compassion, Ellis Island, Ferguson, gates, Gettysburg,Harrisburg, Jim Crow, judges, Los Angeles, Medal Of Honor, mountain, Philadelphia, Picket's Charge, presence, Robert E. Lee, segregated, slavery, stranger

Re’eh : Can We Still Be Hopeful About the World?

Keywords: Abba Eban, anti-Semitism, Azerbaijan, beheading, David Siegel, Deborah Lipstadt, despair, Deuteronomy, Egypt, evil, fear, Federal Building, genocide, ISIS, joy, love, lunch, medieval, Muslim, New York Times, news, Shimon Peres, Steven Pinker, telegram, terrorism, wars, women, worry

Vaetchanan : What’s Next?

Keywords: 1968, Avrohom Yeshaya Karelitz, Beth Jacob, Chazon Ish, David Ben Gurian, Eyal Yifrach, faith, future, Gilad Shaar, Julie & Michael Silverstein, kaddish, memorial service, mourning, Naftali Frankel, Nessa, Rav Dimi, Redondo Beach, six-day war, unity, unknown, Yaacov Herzog

Devarim : Defending Our Borders From Within and Without

Keywords: anger, anti-Semites, anti-Semitic, Babylonian, borders, Boston, Chicago, Crusades, Egypt, France, Germany, Hadar Goldin, Hamas, hate, Hitler, IDF, Inquisition, Iran, Israel, Jerusalem, Magen, Avraham, New York, Romans, sadness, silence, Tisha B'Av, tunnels, vengeance

July


Masei : David Siegel speaks about Israel

Keywords: AIPAC, America, BBC Radio, cease fire, civilians, consul general, David Siegel, Egypt, Elat, EU, FIDF, Gaza, Geneva, Goldstone Report, Haifa, Hamas, Iran, iron dome, Jerusalem, Jordan, kidnapping, Lebanon, Mofaz plan, nuclear, Palestine, Protective Edge, Qatar, rockets, Ron Dermer, Saudi Arabia, security, social media, Syria, Tel Aviv, terror, terrorist, trauma, tunnels, Turkey

Matot : Israel’s Tragic Dilemma

Keywords: 1967,airliner, anti-Semitism, Anwar Sadat, Ariel Sharon, Benjamin Netanyahu, children, disproportionate, Egypt, El Al, Gamal Abdel Nasser, Gaza, ground troupes, hopeless, hopeless, invasion, Iran, Isaac Bashevis Singer, John Stewart, Jordan, kill, Malaysian, Menachem Begin, nuclear, occupation, painful, painful, powerlessness, proportion, rockets, safety, terrorist, threat, violence, war, world stage

Pinchas : Three Short Sermons on Israel

Keywords: Abu Khadir, ashamed, Baruch Goldstein, beat, burn, Catholic, change, damage, despair, Egypt, enemies, extremist, Hamas, hate, hatred, Hillel, India, insane, Iran, Iraq, Israel Defense Forces, Jake Tapper, Jeffrey Goldberg, kick, Kurds, Lebanon, Leon Wieseltier, mainspring, Meir Kahane, Muslim, never, New York Board Of Rabbis, peace, points, police, prayer, Protestant, Rabbi Tarfon, resentment, rockets, shame, shame, Sherri Mandell, soul, state, Syria, teenage, terror, three sermons, Turkey, violent, war, work

June


Chukat : Sticks & Stones

Keywords: 1915, 1919, assassination, bullet, chemical warfare, Churchill, Cicero, draft, Flanders Fields, Franz Ferdinand, Gavrilo Princip, Great War, Habsburg Empire, July 4th, Moses, orphan, Ottoman Empire, peace, peace, Somme, sticks, stones, useless, victory, violence, war, widow, words, World War I, World War II, World War III

Sh’lach : Who Do You Think You Are?

Keywords: Abraham Twerski, ash tray, Bloomsday, Caleb, clothes, destiny, dry cleaner, Ezekiel, Farnz Kafka, Fink, free, human, James Joyce, Joshua, Leopold Bloom, Marcel Proust, obscenity, Rachav, Sarah, slavery, spies, Ulysses, upright, words, zona

Beha’alotcha : Gathering the Elders

Keywords: 70, advice, appearance, Ariel Sharon, auction, Botox, consequences, council, elders, experience, Golda Meir, Los Angeles, meat, Normandy, old people, Plato, president, privilege, quail, reputation, Sinai, social media, texting, wisdom, wise

May


Nasso : Israel’s Worldwide Mission

Keywords: Auschwitz, Bereishit, Brussels, David Weiss Halivni, Donetsk, Elie Wiesel, Europe, gemara, genius, illui, Nathan Kazin, New York, prodigy, rebels, rescue, Shaul Lieberman, student, Talmud, Ukrane, uplift, VA, Veteran's Association

Bamidbar : My Father: Lessons from a Lifetime of Leadership

Keywords: arrowhead, bamidbar, blender, books, brain, college, cortex, creativity, date, development office, discipline, Eric Kandel, experiment, face, faces, facial recognition, fact, father, iyar, Leonard Bernstein, list, music, name, numbers, orchids, pianist, piano, practice, recognize, water

Bechukotai : An Ad, A Controversy, and Our Community

Keywords: accept, ad, Adam, Akiba, anger, apologize, assault, blessing, blight, care, community, controversy, difference, discrimination, division, Dr. Schulkin, embrace, enemies, Eve, exclusion, experience, healed, heart, heart, hurt, intermixed, Jeremiah, Jewish Journal, judge, ladder, love, mother, openness, opportunity, pain, peace, percentage, Persian, petition, pit, rib, school, strife, stumble, time, unity, work

Behar : Hakarat Hatov — Gratitude

Keywords: aphasia, birdsong, birthday, black dot, blessing, butterfly, dentistry, flat tire, Grand Moll seizer, gratitude, Hebrew rap, holocaust commemoration, Iranian Federation, Jewish Journal, love, Michael Steinhardt, miracle, mother, Philadelphia, prayer, stroke, Taxi, Yankees

April


Pesach I – Rabbi Wolpe: Teach Your Children Well

Keywords: ABA, BC, bowling alley, challenges, child, children, cynical, cynicism, Elie Wiesel, Elijah, give, headline, heroes, internet, John Stewart, messiah, Moses, moshiach, parents, satire, shooting, snark, stabbing, Steven Colbert, stranger, tragedy, war

Achrei Mot : Slavery, Generosity And Discipline

Keywords: 60, athlete, attention, bread, chess, compulsion, detail, discipline, effort, festival, free, freedom, holiday, insane, law, meat, obsessive, OCD, Passover, piano, poetry, repetition, sixty, time, vegetables, violin, virtuoso, work

Metzora : Leaving Egypt

Keywords: Auschwitz, Civil War, Egypt, festival, free men, freedom, Hanukkah, holiday, Maimonides, Man's Search For Meaning, matzo, Passover, Rabbi Lawrence Hoffman, Rabbi Sinai Adler, Ruvane, Shimon, slavery, soldiers, Terezin Ghetto, Viktor Fra

March


Schmini : Looking Beneath the Surface

Keywords: archaeology, atheist, deep, depth, farmers, free, Freud, hurry, information, Jewish, atheist, Mary Moody Emerson, Metzorah, nomads, Pesach, psychoanalysis, Rabbi Soloveitchik, Ralph Waldo Emerson, shallow, skin, skin diseases, surface, Tazriah, thought, time, Vladmir Nabakov

Tazria : Playing With Fire, Then and Now

Keywords: Aaron, Abihu, Adam, Al Gore, Amazon, ballroom dancing, Bill Gates, bionics, bombs, Boston Marathon, darkness, death, fire, future, Google, information, internet, Microsoft, MIT, Nadab, nuclear reactor, power, Sir Isaac Newton, Sir Tim Berners-Lee, tech, technology, TED, values, Vancouver, weaponry, wheel, world wide web, Yahoo!

Vayikra : AIPAC – The Call

Keywords: Africa, AIPAC, aleph, America, Babylonian Talmud, computer, Crimea, Cyrus, diamond, Facebook, global, important, impressions, Iran, Israel, megaphone, messengers, Moses, parochial, peace, Russia, self-determination, silence, silent, speech, strength, threats, Twitter, Ukraine, urgent, Washington, Zionist

Pekudei : You Shall Teach Them

Keywords: army, children, copper, education, generation, give, giving, Golden Calf, grateful, gratitude, Jonathan Sacks, linen, manna, mensch, parrot, quail, rebellion, receiving, roundtable, Shel Silverstein, sisterhood, tabernacle, The Giving Tree, thirst, united, Wendy Mogel, women

February


Terumah : Why Do We Need A Tabernacle?

Keywords: blueprint, building, cards, Charles Peguy, confession, education, fire, football, gambling, Gershom Scholem, hair cut, idea, inspiration, joke, judge, kabbalah, Leo David, plan, religion, evelation, sadar, salon, sermon, Sinai, Solomon Schechter, tabernacle, vision

January


Mishpatim : The Joint Distribution Committee – Taking Care of One Another

Keywords: America, anti-Semitism, attitude, Babylonia, Budapest, Chile, community, Cuba, Cyrus, freedom, guilt, Iranian Jews, JDC, Jerusalem, Joint Distribution Committee, Lithuania, lucky, Masorti, Nobel Prize, Persia, responsible, Romans, Russia, scattered, Shai Agnon, Shmuel Yosef Agnon, Ukrain, universal, Ur Kasdim, wealth, Zion

Yitro : Why So Many Jews Disobey the Most Important Commandment

Keywords: adultery, angles, brentwood, capitalism, charity, fruit, gossip, handicap, law-abiding, lunch, Michael Brooks, morals, murder, parking, steal, stealing, taxes, ten commandments, theft, Wolf Of Wall Street