Money

December 25, 2025

When Life Is Commodified (Parashat Vayiggash 5779)

This is my D’var Torah for Parashat Vayiggash in 5779, December 15, 2018 — during thick of the season of gift giving and shopping. In 1912, Francis Collins published The Boys’ Book of Model Airplanes: How to Build and How to Fly Them. It was about a decade after Kitty Hawk, the first successful flight… Continue reading

Calendar, Chanuka, Chanukkah, Economics, Money, Parashat Hashavua, Torah, Vayiggash, Youth
January 30, 2025

A Year of Jewish Ethics #9: If Someone Treats You Badly How Good Do You Have to Remain?

All of us want to hold ourselves to a high standard of integrity and honesty and to go the extra mile for people as much as we can. But what happens when we are stuck dealing with another person who is either straight up unethical toward us, or whose actions are only just technically acceptable,… Continue reading

A Year of Jewish Ethics, Ethics, Middot, Money, Parashat Hashavua, Torah, Vayetze, Young Jewish Adult, Youth
January 2, 2025

College: Wrapping Up “Justice”

For much of Justice, certainly the last many weeks of the course while I was a freshman, my main interest was finding a good philosophical justification for distributive justice. Both of my papers were critiques of libertarianism, attempts to buttress the politics I had (and have). The choices in the class were between a Rawslian… Continue reading

College, Current Affairs, Equality, Ethics, Freedom, Money, Tzedek, USA
September 13, 2021

Integrating America: The Original Horatio Alger Story

Assignment: Horatio Alger's novel Ragged Dick What motivates Dick when he faces key decisions? Who are his mentors and role models? What kinds of characters come across as "bad guys" and bad influences? Is America a place that really works the way Alger presents? ——— We started the course at least once with a… Continue reading

#integratingamerica, Books, Current Affairs, Education, Equality, Freedom, History, Middot, Money, USA, Youth
February 9, 2020

How I Decide Who to Vote For

This is an attempt to write down something I’ve never written out before: how I decide whom to vote for in elections for national office. This is how I understand what I am doing. There’s plenty here to discuss or argue about. Voting is in one way the most morally consequential thing we do. The… Continue reading

Antisemitism, Calendar, Community Relations, Current Affairs, Election, Ethics, Freedom, Health Care, History, Immigration, Inclusion, Islam, Israel, Justice, Leadership, Money, Peace, Tikkun Olam, Torah, Tzedakah, Tzedek, USA
November 26, 2018

Chanukkah Is About Today

Each year in the Temple Beth Abraham bulletin I tend to write about the same thing at this time of year. This is as good as I've done so far in articulating why Chanukkah is important, and why it is important for American Jews at this holiday season. This is my December column: You’ve probably… Continue reading

Antisemitism, Calendar, Chanuka, Community Relations, Current Affairs, Freedom, History, Holidays, Inclusion, Interfaith Dialogue, Israel, Jerusalem, Money, Peace, Spirituality, Study, Tikkun Olam, Tzedek, USA, Youth
August 26, 2011

Two Modest Proposals on Money and News

This occurred to me recently as the presidential primary campaigns are underway. I propose that no one donate any money to a campaign for the Democratic or Republican nomination. As far as I can tell, whoever the nominee is for each party will espouse the same basic policies as his party on the major economic… Continue reading

Current Affairs, Money
December 18, 2009

Last Day of Chanuka: Dimensions of 8

This last day's focus on Jewish dedication is centered on the number 8 itself. Eight is a significant Jewish number. A bris takes place on the eighth day of a boy's life. Eight is associated with the ancient Temple in Jerusalem — King Shlomo dedicated the first Temple on Sukkot, the eight-day fall festival. In… Continue reading

Chanuka, Eight, Holidays, Justice, Money, Numbers, Tikkun Olam, Tzedakah, Tzedek
May 20, 2009

Parashat Behar — Jack Kemp, Housing, and Torah

Jack Kemp died just a couple weeks ago, on May 2. I thought of the long-time conservative political leader as I studied Parashat Behar last week. I've always considered Jack Kemp to be one of my influences, as someone who came of age in the 1980s, because of the particular kind of free-market conservatism he… Continue reading

Behar, Current Affairs, Justice, Money, Parashat Hashavua, Tikkun Olam, Tzedakah, Tzedek
December 8, 2008

Chanuka and Gift Giving

My first Chanuka-related posting of the season. I hope I am reaching some of you before you are in the thick of Chanuka and holiday gift giving. This year in particular is a time when we might reassess the whole matter of Chanuka presents. Originally, of course, Chanuka had no association with giving gifts —… Continue reading

Chanuka, Money