Month: July 2021

Pearls of Rashi: Parshas Eikev II

/ Mėir Weiss/z

The Rebbe Teaches Rashi

Click here for a printable PDF.

This week we read the Torah portion of Eikev. In this Parshah, the Torah teaches us the second paragraph of Shema, which begins,[1] “And it will be if you obey My commandments that I command you this day … and to serve Him with all your heart and with all your soul.” Rashi cites the words “and to serve Him with all of your heart” and explains as follows. “This means with a service of the heart, namely prayer. We refer to prayer as service, as it says,[2] “your G-d, Whom you serve regularly.”

The Mishnah, at the beginning of Chapter Five of Berochos, says,[3] “One must not stand up to say the Amidah without deep earnestness (literally a heavy head).” Rabbi Dov Ber, the Maggid of Mezritch, explains this as follows. One may not pray for his own needs…

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15 best plant-based proteins — Tuesday’s Horse

/ Mėir Weiss/z

Here is more information on getting enough protein on a vegan diet. I keep getting this from folks and it seems to be holding them up quite a bit from going vegan. Please do not let it. But remember it may seem a bit weird to start with — big changes usually do — especially […]

15 best plant-based proteins — Tuesday’s Horse

Unpacking Ben & Jerry’s Opinion Piece

/ Mėir Weiss/z

FirstOneThrough

Due to the pro-Israel backlash about Ben & Jerry’s announced decision to stop selling ice cream in the West Bank/area east of the Green Line (EGL), the two founders penned an opinion piece in the liberal opinion paper, The New York Times on July 29, 2021. Here is a review.

Ben & Jerry comment: “We are the founders of Ben & Jerry’s. We are also proud Jews. It’s part of who we are and how we’ve identified ourselves for our whole lives. As our company began to expand internationally, Israel was one of our first overseas markets. We were then, and remain today, supporters of the State of Israel.“

FirstOneThrough review: Sounds reasonable. The duo is asserting that they are proud to be both Jewish and supporters of Israel so everything that follows must be read in that light. Meaning, this is what they want readers to believe…

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Mordecai Richler

/ Mėir Weiss/z

Daniel J. Laxer

On Esplanade Avenue on the eastern flank of Jeanne Mance Park – which Mordecai Richler would have known, in another time, as Fletcher’s Field – there is an old triplex with a green door, right by the corner of Duluth. My great-grandfather owned it. When Mordecai was a boy, the Richlers were my great-grandfather’s tenants. This was before they had moved to St. Urban, of course. Mordecai, my great-uncles, and my grandmother would have played together as children.

Today, July 3rd, is the anniversary of Mordecai’s death.

I remember the day he died. Somebody in the CJAD newsroom suggested they call me, that perhaps, given my education, I’d be a good resource. The former Quebec City Bureau Chief – a top-notch reporter who would go on to become a priest in the Anglican Church – called me at home. “Dan, Mordecai Richler’s died and we thought maybe you’d know whom…

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Protecting fur and fins: Bans on fashion in Israel and fishing in Jamaica — The Christian Science Monitor | All stories

/ Mėir Weiss/z

Our progress roundup: Israel is first country to ban fashion furs, and a Jamaica fish sanctuary where conservationist-fisher cooperation is key.

Protecting fur and fins: Bans on fashion in Israel and fishing in Jamaica — The Christian Science Monitor | All stories