Some of them can be seen, maybe Even touched; the subtle pattern Of their stroked bodies, sculpted. Others cannot be seen; definitely Not touched, but they can be heard; Their music a song older than time. Either way, it’s not so much whether They can be touched or not, as much as: Whether or not we allow them to touch us.

Chorma. The name doesn’t ring many bells – but it is a sad place – a very sad place. It’s another good reason to read Devarim before Tisha B’av. Here’s the story...

It is easy for us to understand why we mourn the destruction of the Second Temple - after all, our lives today and the lives of the Jewish people over the last 2,000 years have been directly (and negatively) impacted by that horrible event. But why do we still mourn the destruction of the First Temple - an event which has seemingly been rectified?

I once was a slave. To other masters, certainly; But mostly to myself, And that was the tragedy. I did not rise with the day. I did not rise with anything: (When one is constantly down One does not easily get up). And if I did set with the night, I definitely did not set right. I slaved in many forms and conforms:

It is nearing the end – (In fact, Many years this is the end –) Of the desert journey. We have come far (Not so much in miles as In consciousness) We have come close (Not so much to a place as To ourselves) It is nearing the end of the fourth book: The Holy Land on the horizon; A sun and dream dawning – Brilliant rays turning the dark

Peddlers of the English language have the good fortune of choosing from hundreds of thousands of words. Any given idea may be stated in the Latin, Germanic or Saxon tongues. Are you crazy (Scandinavian), lunatic (French), insane (Latin) maniacal (Greek) or just meshuge (Yiddish/Hebrew)?

I refuse to tell the whole joke. But somehow that super clichéd line about my father’s a kohein and my grandfather’s a kohein (so I wanted to be a kohein too) never fails to deliver concomitant grins - and groans (usually from the same people). Our parsha marks the first appearance of a man, whose father was a kohein, whose grandfather was a kohein and yet he himself was not a kohein...

Cool Calm Collected Walk with perfect posture, Personality put out to pasture: Upright, uptight – aligned In perfect symmetry with The vertical ruler that is Necktie, but really Cravat: Blood flow stalled, passion Stifled, life suppressed, re- Pressed, vitality oppressed, Soul hard-pressed To find Shoes tasseled (never tussled) Business hustled (never hassled)