Did Avraham face a "Lucy football?" If so, what was the point of the story of his prayer for Sodom? Perhaps to show us that you can tell a great deal about a person simply by what they pray for.

If God taught Adam about murder, why did He teach it again to Noach? Perhaps the problem with murder is not as intuitive as we might think. And what does that have to do with Walter Kaufmann's observation that America would never elect a president that is serious about his religion?  

The final episode of the beta-series (season 1) reflects on the nature of achievements and the positive side of unrealistic goals. Had Moses been less ambitious, he may have been more successful in the short term at the cost of not making a difference in the long term.

Thomas Cahill, Netziv and the Lubavitcher Rebbe all agree about the tremendous impact Jews can have on the rest of the world. So why are we not doing anything about it? As the world is opening to the Jewish people, we need to think about what we want to transmit and how we propose to do it. 

As we come to the end of the summer, its time to remember to take God back with us into our routines. The best strategy to do that is to make proper blessing on the things that God has given us to enjoy. Check out one of the most important teaching of the Rambam and remember it the next time you see a sunset.

How does polite public discourse prevent us from seeing God in our world? The unspoken ground rules of liberal states should not dictate how we speak, and prevent us from mentioning God or His will as we understand it. Instead we should follow the example of Christian intellectuals like Yale University's Stephen Carter, not to mention our own greats such as Nehama Leibowitz, Seforno and Netziv.

What do these three very different individuals have in common? We return to the subject of what any speaker or writer must take into account when addressing others. and when listeners make it unfairly and counter-productively too constricting.

A discussion of the intolerant climate for those of us who think differently. Am I afraid to voice an unpopular idea? Here goes: The notion that all men are created equal is a modern myth. Find out why and what it has to do with Parshat Matot. Hint: Why does Moshe only discuss vows with the tribal leaders?

Looking back at Moshe's earlier call for help at the beginning of Bemidbar's complaints, Rashi (11:15) says that he became weak like a woman. What does that mean and how is it brought full circle with the Pinchas' bold move.

Looking at Moshe's strange response to God's anger in this week's parsha, something Churchill said (or maybe not) and some of the complaints about our leaders' responses to Corona can all help us be better at failing...