This week’s parashah, Ki Tavo, contains quite a number of curses and blessings. The Torah paints a striking picture of the Israelites, divided by tribe, standing on the tops of Mounts Ebal and Gerizim, facing one another. The Levites call out blessings...

Each year, as we reread the powerful words of the Book of Deuteronomy in our synagogues, I can’t help but notice how germane its wise teachings are to the season in which we find ourselves: the Days of Awe, Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, which we will...

In the title story of Philip Roth’s “Goodbye Columbus,” a young man from Brooklyn’s lower middle-class has been invited to dinner at his girlfriend’s home in one of Long Island’s more posh neighborhoods. Her family has a huge home, and dinner...

In this week’s parasha, Ki Tavo, Moses instructs the Israelites on the laws surrounding the bikkurim, the first fruits. He tells the people, “When you come in to the Land … you shall take of the first of all the fruit of the Land … and put it...