Lazer Gurkow
The Blogs

Lazer Gurkow

Apply for a Blog
Nov 15, 2020, 5:47 AM
Esau’s Garments
You know the story. Rebecca instructed Jacob to disguise himself as Esau by dressing in Esau’s garments (which were furry and made him appear hairy like Esau), present himself to his father, provide him with delicious wine and meat,...
Nov 8, 2020, 7:15 AM
Personal Agenda
Did you ever do a favor for another while harboring a personal agenda? If yes, would you ever admit it? Abraham sent his servant Eliezer to Mesopotamia to seek a bride for Isaac among his relatives. Eliezer asked what to...
Nov 1, 2020, 7:23 AM
Person of Destiny
Sodom would soon be aflame, and Lot and his family were being shepherded from the city. It was not his destiny to die that night. It was his destiny to live. But why?  Lot thought it was on account...
Oct 18, 2020, 7:33 AM
Make A Name
“Let us make a name for ourselves,” was the motto of the building campaign for the tower of Babel. It was several hundred years after the great biblical flood had laid waste to humanity and the people wanted something...
Oct 7, 2020, 9:47 PM
Simchat Torah: Why We Rejoice
On Simchat Torah, we rejoice and dance endless horas around the bimah. Why do we rejoice and why do we dance the hora in particular? The obvious answer is that we rejoice because we read the concluding chapter of the...
Sep 22, 2020, 5:30 AM
Yom Kippur: Remove the Muck
The Baal Shem Tov is said to have once heard a cantor confessing his sins on Yom Kippur to a joyful melody. The Baal Shem Tov asked him why he was so happy? The cantor replied that if he...
Sep 13, 2020, 12:31 PM
Against All Odds
Against all odds, life came to be. For life to flourish on earth, such precise conditions had to be met that even a tiny variation would have thrown it off. What were the odds that such precise conditions would...
Sep 6, 2020, 10:02 AM
A Nation of One
The Torah portion that we read this Shabbat describes the Jewish people as a nation of one. “You all stand this day before G-d, your G-d the leaders, your tribes, your elders, and your officers, every man of Israel....
Aug 30, 2020, 6:48 AM
Removed the Holy
In ancient Jerusalem, Jews would go the Temple every three years and proclaim, “I have removed the holy from my home.” What does it mean to remove the holy portion from the house? Here is the background. Every year,...
Aug 23, 2020, 8:00 AM
A Winning Strategy
When you go to war, you need a winning strategy. It doesn’t matter how strong or weak your army is, success depends on the strategy. If the generals devise a winning strategy, you have a chance of winning the...
Load more
About Me
Rabbi Lazer Gurkow, a renowned lecturer, serves as Rabbi to Congregation Beth Tefilah in London Ontario. He is a member of the curriculum development team at Rohr Jewish Learning Institute and is the author of two books and nearly a thousand online essays. You can find his work at www.innerstream.org