Author: Rabbi Stan Halpern

Recently our family suffered two deaths. Neither passing was tragic. Both individuals were in their nineties and had been in good health almost to the…

This is the time of year when we teach the story of the Exodus from Egypt to a number of different audiences—children, Jewish adults, non-Jewish…

There has been a gap in my twice-monthly “Desks”, and I have been asked about the cause. So, for both of you who asked, and…

I don’t know whether any of you were ever taught about what is one of the most interesting and perplexing questions in the reading of…

I grew up as one of two non-Catholic families in a very Catholic area. Our neighbors had first-born sons who were priests and daughters who…

One of the most often used of Halpern’s Rules is Rule #5: It’s All About the Words. That seems most logical given that, while originally…

It is not uncommon for the most interesting elements of a story in Tanach to be hidden in the words or in the names.  The…

Anyone who has ever learned text with me knows that Halpern’s Rule #5 is, “It’s all in the words”. All too often we focus on…

For a very long time I have believed that life, the universe, and everything else can be explained by Star Trek and Star Wars. I…

Abraham and Lot part ways in a very amicable fashion because they have become so prosperous, they both need room to spread out.  Abraham gives…