Ekev

The Torah Explains Why We Must Care About “Strangers”

By PAMELA KATZ

In this commentary, we are asked to “cut away, therefore, the thickening about your hearts and stiffen your necks no more,” and to do what is right and just: to emulate God by showing empathy for the oppressed of the world—we are all interconnected—especially because we as a nation know it means to be considered “strangers.”

God Is in the Details:
Understanding the Complex, Complicated World We Live In

By BRENT CHAIM SPODEK

The Rambam (Moses Maimonides) teaches that the root of human evil is lack of knowledge. We need to appreciate not only for the food we eat but also who grew it, who received decent wages for growing it and who did not, who benefited and who suffered, etc, and then we can truly give thanks to God.

True Power is Compassion

By RABBI BRADLEY SHAVIT ARTSON

Ivan the Terrible was terrible and Alexander the Great was great. What was so great about the Greats? Weren’t they really Terribles? God revealed what constitutes real power through the Prophet Zechariah: “Not by might, nor by power, but by My spirit.” (Zechariah 4:6)