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Lazer Gurkow

Lazer Gurkow

The Times of Israel (Blogs)

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The Kohen

The kohen (priest) plays many central roles in this week’s Torah portion. Primary among them is the priestly blessing. G-d endowed the kohen with...

28.05.2023 10

The Times of Israel (Blogs)

Lazer Gurkow

Are You a Kosher Letter?

Every Jew is a letter in the Torah; the question is, are you a kosher letter? The Torah tells us that 603,550 Jews came out of Egypt.[1] Kabbalah...

21.05.2023 20

The Times of Israel (Blogs)

Lazer Gurkow

Follow The Money

One of the most popular antisemitic tropes is that Jews are all about money. But is there perhaps some truth to this? After all, when the Jewish...

14.05.2023 50

The Times of Israel (Blogs)

Lazer Gurkow

Charity Without Poverty

Can there be charity without poverty? The world is on a warpath to eradicate poverty. Many billionaires, and wealthy developed countries, are...

07.05.2023 50

The Times of Israel (Blogs)

Lazer Gurkow

Protests and Unrest in Israel

The current unrest in Israel is not about the state of its democracy or the role of its judiciary.  As many analysts have correctly surmised, the...

30.04.2023 30

The Times of Israel (Blogs)

Lazer Gurkow

Every Jew A High Priest

Did you know that every Jew is a High Priest? I don’t say this tongue-in-cheek. According to the great commentator Rabbi Yakov Bal Haturim, this is...

25.04.2023 80

The Times of Israel (Blogs)

Lazer Gurkow

Because I Said So

Because I said so, was a common refrain when I was young. We knew that we were more competent than all adults combined, and we constantly challenged...

14.04.2023 20

The Times of Israel (Blogs)

Lazer Gurkow

In G-d We Trust

Do you trust in G-d? Is that your first go-to option when you experience a setback? Suppose your car breaks down, you lose your job, or your dental...

26.03.2023 20

The Times of Israel (Blogs)

Lazer Gurkow

G-d Is Calling

When things happen to me, good or bad, I often think that G-d is calling. It is a mantra that I took up in life. It reminds me that nothing is random....

19.03.2023 20

The Times of Israel (Blogs)

Lazer Gurkow

Pekudei: The Entitlement Generation

The entitlement generation claims whatever they want as their entitlement. Let me tell you a story: Tim Hortons, a coffee house chain, runs an annual...

12.03.2023 20

The Times of Israel (Blogs)

Lazer Gurkow

Ki Tisa: The Buck Stops Here

The buck stops here, was a sign on the desk of President Harry S Truman. It is a spin off the aphorism, “pass the buck”—punting responsibility...

05.03.2023 20

The Times of Israel (Blogs)

Lazer Gurkow

Tetzaveh: The Gift of a Birthday

Moses’ birthday was on the seventh of Adar. The Shabbat before Purim is almost always in the week of Moses’ birthday so let’s use this...

26.02.2023 20

The Times of Israel (Blogs)

Lazer Gurkow

Are Golden Cherubs Kosher

G-d instructed our ancestors to construct a Golden ark topped by two golden cherubs. Only several months earlier, the Jews were severely punished for...

19.02.2023 20

The Times of Israel (Blogs)

Lazer Gurkow

Clean Up the Mess

Clean up the mess is what our Torah portion is all about. G-d made a messy world. One in which humans steal from each other, abuse each other, and...

15.02.2023 30

The Times of Israel (Blogs)

Lazer Gurkow

The Key to Integrity

If you are honest and speak with integrity, people will respect you and enjoy your company. If you charm people and tell them what they want to hear...

09.02.2023 20

The Times of Israel (Blogs)

Lazer Gurkow

Do We Have Free Choice

If G-d knows what we will choose before we choose it, do we have free choice? We discussed this question several times, but I want to deal with it...

29.01.2023 20

The Times of Israel (Blogs)

Lazer Gurkow

Do You Have The Courage To Be Free?

Do we have the courage to be free? As we read about our ancestors leaving Egypt, we realize that they took a huge leap of faith. In retrospect it...

22.01.2023 30

The Times of Israel (Blogs)

Lazer Gurkow

Why Ten Plagues?

This week we are introduced to the ten plagues. Seven plagues appear in our Torah portion and the last three appear in next week’s Torah portion....

16.01.2023 20

The Times of Israel (Blogs)

Lazer Gurkow

Shemot: The Uniquely Jewish Cry

Is there a uniquely Jewish cry or do Jews cry like everyone else? On the surface, the Jewish cry is no different than the non-Jewish cry. But the...

08.01.2023 20

The Times of Israel (Blogs)

Lazer Gurkow

The Diaspora Jew

This week we are introduced to the diaspora Jew. Until this point, the Torah was concerned with holy people who lived in holy places (except for...

01.01.2023 20

The Times of Israel (Blogs)

Lazer Gurkow

Come Down

Today, I want to talk to you the time Joseph instructed his father to, “Come down to me.” Joseph was viceroy of Egypt—the only country with...

25.12.2022 20

The Times of Israel (Blogs)

Lazer Gurkow

Chanukah: You Are Good

The Chanukah lights broadcast a simple message: you are good. Sometimes we think that if we lose our jobs, our relationships fail, succumb to...

18.12.2022 20

The Times of Israel (Blogs)

Lazer Gurkow

The Modern Chanukah

Since the Renaissance, the traditions of Western civilization were rooted in scripture. Western values derived their meaning and authenticity from the...

11.12.2022 20

The Times of Israel (Blogs)

Lazer Gurkow

Vayishlach: G-d Is In Our Corner

Sometimes it is hard to feel that G-d is in our corner. It feels as if Murphy’s Law is G-d’s Law. Everything that could go wrong, does, and G-d...

04.12.2022 20

The Times of Israel (Blogs)

Lazer Gurkow

Vayetze: Beware the Hypocrite

On his deathbed, King Yanai warned his wife Shelomtziyon to beware of the hypocrite. Fear not the Pharisees, though I have waged war against them all...

27.11.2022 20

The Times of Israel (Blogs)

Lazer Gurkow

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