Enough With AI, How About Some RI?

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Shabbat Table Talk from the desk of Rabbi Alexander Seinfeld

March 27-28, 2026 • 10 Nissan 5786 • Tzav (Lev 6-8).

RI? (If you're reading this at the dinner table, try asking if anyone can guess what that stands for...) 

RI refers, of course, to "Rabbi Intelligence."

In classical Jewish thought, there are two kinds of rabbi, A-Rabbi and B=Rabbi.

An A-Rabbi is an Authority figure. Think Moses—tall, long beard, super firm handshake. This is a guy you're going to listen to (if you know what's good for you). 

Now, although Moses has passed on to the next world, he appointed a successor, and his successor a successor, and so on, and we have rabbis today who can trace their authority all the way back up that chain.

A B-Rabbi is a Buddy. It could be your neighbor. It could be your friend. It could be... YOU. Rabbi B may not be in the chain of authority, but there's another chain that everyone can connect to—the chain of learning.

The original author of the Haggadah was certainly a B-Rabbi and most likely an A-Rabbi as well. With his (likely but not necessarily it was a he) erudition, he crafted a learned text for fellow B-Rabbis to use at their Seder.

Herein lies the problem for modern Jews. How many of us are B-Rabbis who can appreciate the depth and breadth of this masterpiece called the Haggadah?

So we have thousands of commentaries—cheat sheets, if you will—to raise the bar and turn a lay person into a B-Rabbi at the Seder.

But there's one small catch: in order to succeed in the B-Rabbi business, you'll need to... (ahem)...study. 

There, I said it. I said it and I know I'll get flack for it.

Because who wants to study a 2,000-year-old text just so that I can have a Seder? If we understood the Haggadah better, wouldn't that risk making our Seder more meaningful and then take longer? Isn't the point to get through it as fast as possible?

If this conundrum speaks to you, then you probably are the target audience for the Art of Amazement Haggada and you definitely need the 2026 JSLI Passover Kit - a ZIP file of over 15 great Seder resources (PDF of full haggadah, bingo cards, charades, etc. etc.). To get the Kit, you can click here.

Question for your table: What's the perfect length for a Pesach Seder?

Shabbat Shalom and

Chag Sameach

PS - this year's Kit includes our "Healthy & Holy Passover" excerpt from Body & Soul, which you can also find via TorahHealth.org.

PPS - Don't forget to get a copy of the new book - Restoring the Exodus: The Rational Case for the Biblical Narrative — we recommend gifting the pocket-size paperback version to every adult at the Seder

A Tactless Attack Tactic?

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Shabbat Table Talk from the desk of Rabbi Alexander Seinfeld

March 13-14, 2026 • 25 Adar 5786 • Vayakeil-Pekudei (Exod 35-40).

Keep reading for a big announcement! (the image at the left is a hint)

To prepare you for it, here's a question for your table: What's worse - when they attack us physically or spiritually?

For many people, one of the highlights of the Passover Seder (in two weeks and change!) is the song, V'he sheh amda.... 

V'hee she'amda lavoteinu velanu
Shelo echad bilvad amad aleinu lechaloteinu
Eh'la she'b'chol dor va'dor
Omdiim aleinu lechaloteinu
Vehakadosh baruch hu matzileinu miyadam

And this is what kept our ancestors and what keeps us surviving. For, not only one arose and tried to destroy us, rather in every generation they try to destroy us, and God saves us from their hands.

(Here's a group of yeshiva guys singing this week it in a bomb shelter while awaiting their Rabbi to begin the class).

If you don't know the song, start learning it today and by the time Pesach arrives you'll sing it like a pro.

So when they're attacking us in Israel, we understand that because we're "occupiers" or "land stealers." Even in New York we could maybe imagine it's a sociological issue, you know such population density. 

But why are they attacking us in Lyons, Bondi Beach, Jackson, and now Detroit?

The truth is that their hatred is mostly religious, sometimes cloaked in tactful politesse.

Just look at the recent ruling of the European Court of Human Rights: the old Wittenberg Cathedral (home of Martin Luther himself, a major amplifier of this hatred) may continue to display on the outside wall one of the most hideous, disgusting, offensive, painful Jew-hating images ever created - the "Jew Pig."

What was the Court's reason? Because the congregation had installed a plaque nearby declaring that this sculpture is historical but doesn't reflect their modern sensibilities.

Oh really?  

BTW - there are about 30 churches in Europe that choose to continue to be adorned with a "Jew Pig."

(Hat-tip to Michael Duelman, who fought this legal battle for nearly a decade.)

One of the biggest attacks on us has been the 150-year-old battle against our national holiday - Passover.

The central ritual of Passover is to tell the story of the Exodus. But if the Exodus never happened, then apparently our entire religion is a mythology.

Personally, I have no problem believing in and telling a story that my parents and grandparents told me.

But these attacks — some by Jewish clergy — have confused people. Is Judaism ultimately a fairy tale? Does the Torah belong on the same shelf as Aesop's Fables — some nice moral lessons, but with no greater verisimilitude than any other mythology?

To respond to these attacks, I'm pleased to announce a new book - Restoring the Exodus: The Rational Case for the Biblical Narrative

Hardcover
Kindle version
iBooks version

You don't need to wait long for the paperback (pocket-size)... it should be available on Sunday. Just in time to order a stack for your Seder.


Shabbat Shalom


PS - You can now get our free Passover download at TorahHealth.org.

You'll Never Believe These Numbers...

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Shabbat Table Talk from the desk of Rabbi Alexander Seinfeld

March 6, 2026 • 18 Adar 5786 • Ki Teitsei (Exod 30-34).

So much has happened since last week's Clothes Encounters of the Jewish Kind message, it's hard to wrap your head around it.

(In case you don't follow my podcasts, here's one on the theme of the war and Purim: What Can YOU + I Learn From ʞǝlɐɯ∀?)

The language of numbers is a useful tool for helping think about big things.

Try asking this at your table: How much money would you guess that the nation of Iran has invested over forty years in the singular effort to destroy Israel? How many people would you guess have been involved - full time - in this "Project" ???

I put these two questions into an AI-bot to crunch the numbers. Here are some results:

Category	Estimated Direct Cost (1982–2026)
Proxy & Regional Militias	$45 billion – $55 billion
Missile & Drone Programs	$25 billion – $35 billion
Nuclear Infrastructure (Direct)	$30 billion – $45 billion
TOTAL DIRECT SPENDING	$100 billion – $135 billion

For comparison, that "investment" represents the sum of three years' wages for every Iranian family. It could have fed every Iranian for six years.

How many people have been working on this "Project'?

Category	Avg. Full-Time Personnel	Total Man-Years (Estimated)
Quds Force / IRGC Leadership	8,000	352,000
Hezbollah (Core Regulars)	12,000	528,000
Hamas / PIJ (Militant Wings)	15,000	660,000
Strategic Weapons (R&D/Mfg)	25,000	1,100,000
Regional "Axis" Militias	10,000	440,000
TOTAL	~70,000	~3,080,000

The effort spent on the Project is roughly equivalent to running the entire Iranian healthcare system for nearly a decade, or providing a full year of education for every child in the country for several cycles. The human capital diverted into clandestine warfare has created a reality where there is one full-time "proxy/agent" for every two nurses in the country.

Here's another comparison chart:

Category	Cost Per Family	What it could have bought instead
Proxy Funding	~$1,800	High-speed internet and a modern laptop for every student.
Nuclear Program	~$1,400	A state-of-the-art regional hospital in every major district.
Missile/Drone Dev	~$1,587	A 10-year supply of drought-resistant irrigation for every farm.

The economy has reverted to "pillow" wealth - Iranian households hold around 250 tons of gold coins and jewelry - more than the official gold reserves held by the Central Bank. Rumors of nationalization of private gold has triggered chaos in the streets. This week there has been a surge bartering gold directly for essentials like medicine, satellite internet terminals, and fuel. The gold sections of the major Bazaars in Tehran, Isfahan, and Shiraz have effectively shut down. Merchants are refusing to open their shops, fearing that the "Interim Council" will send security forces to seize their inventory.

So their 40-year national "Project" has now reached its final irony: the state is asking the people to hand over their gold to pay for the very drones and missiles that triggered the Israeli/American strikes now destroying the country’s infrastructure.

According to traditional Jewish sources, when a country - like Nazi Germany or Shia-Iran - becomes singularly focused on killing Jews, it is by definition "Amalek."

Seeing that being dismantled before our eyes is joyous. The job isn't yet complete, but there is every reason to be happy and grateful to have lived to see this moment in history.

The Jewish People have made many mistakes in the past 3,300 years, not least of which was (in this week's Torah Portion) building the Golden Calf. We are far from perfect. Our greatness comes out when we (a) admit and fix our mistakes and (b) unite under the banner of "love your neighbor."

May we continue to hear and share good news.

Shabbat Shalom

PS - You can now get our free Passover download at TorahHealth.org.

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Clothes Encounters of the Jewish Kind?

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Shabbat Table Talk from the desk of Rabbi Alexander Seinfeld

February 27-28, 2026 • 11 Adar 5786 • Tetzaveh (Exod 27-30).

Last week's message was about your skin.

This week's is about the trouble we humans take to cover our skin.

In every culture, clothes are a uniform — they broadcast your tribal affiliation.

Just look at how people around you dress and tell me if you agree or disagree.

Speaking of tribal affiliation, in the news today: the Akuntsu — one of the genocided nations in Brazil — reduced to three individuals — just increased their population by 33.3 percent.

Question for your table: What do you think? Is there hope for them? Can a sole survivor keep a culture alive?

The Torah says yes.

In 1,000 BCE, our first king, Saul (Shaul), was charged with wiping out the fascist Nazi tribe of Amalek.

He did so, but in the erroneous spirit of reciprocal honor, left their King Agag alive for an extra day. 

That was just enough time for Agag to sire a child....

You may recall that the Book of Esther refers to the Hitler-of-the-moment as "Haman the Agagite." 

What do you think — coincidence?

You (yes you, Kimosabee) stand at the end of 4,000 years of an unbroken line from the Patriarchs. As do I.

If even one person can build a nation, imagine what we can do together.

Question for your table: Does your uniform broadcast that you're an MOT?

Shabbat Shalom

and

Happy ɯᴉɹnԀ !

PS - Get our special Purim download on the homepage of TorahHealth.org.

This message may also be read at Times of Israel.

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Skin Deep?

Shabbat Table Talk from the desk of Rabbi Alexander Seinfeld

February 20-21, 2026 • 4 Adar 5786 • Terumah (Exod 25-27).

One of the best engagement activities I ever did as a classroom teacher was also one of the simplest.

You have three bowls of water: ice-cold, room temperature, and hot.

First, if put your hand into the ice water for thirty seconds then immediately into the lukewarm, how would you predict it will feel?

Everyone knows that it's going to feel much warmer.

Now repeat starting with the hot water. What's your prediction? 

That's easy.

Here's the charm: predict what will happen if you simultaneously start with one hand in the cold and the other in the hot?

After everyone makes their prediction, let them try it.

It's a bizarre feeling that we're totally not expecting.

The physiology lesson is that (a) hot and cold are actually relative, not absolute, sensations and (b) we don't actually experience hot and cold (or any other sensation) in our skin or other senses. We experience them in our brains. 

Question for the table: does this mean that if you're feeling too warm or cold you just need to change your mind? What about other feelings?


Shabbat Shalom

PS - What's the technical name for the bodily system of the skin? [integumentary]
PPS - Do you know how many days until Purim and Pesach?

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What's Jewish About the Super Bowl?

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Shabbat Table Talk from the desk of Rabbi Alexander Seinfeld

February 13-14, 2026 • 27 Shevat 5786 • Mishpatim (Exod 21-24).
Dedicated to Moshe Yitzchak ben Shoshana - may he have a speedy and complete convalescence.

Yesterday I taught a Fourth Grade class for a teacher on medical leave. He had suggested, "These boys like to talk about football, so if you can make a football reference, you'll for sure get their attention."

As luck would have it, on Sunday I'd been invited to speak at a watch party during Halftime.

So I asked the boys, "Would you be interested to hear about the "5 Things We Can Learn From the Super Bowl?"

Their rebbe was right - most of them eagerly nodded their heads.

A few looked skeptical - and rightly so; why should we pretend to learn anything from the Super Bowl?

This could be the first question for your table.

But in Pirkei Avos we learn that the epitome of wisdom is not how much you know, rather the attitude that everyone has something to teach you. There are no accidents - if someone has to go to the hospital, that's a clear message. But for those who hear the ambulance pass by, that's also a message.

Second question: can you think of any meaningful lessons from the Super Bowl?

Super Bowl Lesson #1 - What's the Nature of Teamwork?

Both Boston ("New England") and Seattle obviously were doing something right to become the two best teams in the country. I was interested to learn that they have very different approaches to building their team spirit.

In Boston, it's basically "nullify yourself to the greater good" of winning. It reminds me of the mentality of ancient Sparta, very warrior-like, and very successful.

In Seattle, their team-building strategy is completely different. It's "I love you, bro." In the Torah we call that "Love your neighbor."

Don't know about you, but I was happy to see the love-your-neighbor team prevail!

Super Bowl Lesson #2 - Which Players Matter Most?

I arrived at the party during the last minute on the clock of the 2nd Quarter. Seattle was leading 6-0 and they went for a field goal. It's remarkable to me that there is an entire team of guys whose only job is to kick a field goal or to defend against one. The entire game they sit on the bench, waiting for their chance. It could be that they never get a chance. Or, it could be that their field goal is crucial to winning the game. 

Many people feel like their role in life is minor and insignificant, but the truth is that everyone matters, not just the quarterback and wide receiver who get most of the attention. If you're on the team, you're on the team and you matter, and you'll also get a ring.

Super Bowl Lesson #3 - What's Called Progress?

The basic rule of football is that you get four attempts to move the ball ten yards before losing possession. But ten yards means 10.0 yards, not 9.99 yards. So the referees are often out there with a measuring tape - every inch counts. 

Anyone trying to do something hard has experienced times where it feels like you're not making any progress. Whether you're building a business, or learning a language, or raising a child - it can feel like you're not going anywhere. But we can be inspired by the rules of football, every inch counts. Slow progress is progress!

Super Bowl Lesson #4 - What Matters?

Most people focus on the strategies of the plays and the leadership of the coaches and the quarterback, and they pay little attention to the linemen. But if you watch what's happening, the essence of football is two lines of men trying to push each other out of the way. These guys are probably the strongest guys in the world. They're not body-builders, indeed they often have bellies. But they are massively strong. 

So too you and I - we tend to focus on high-level goals and ambitions and don't realize how important physical strength is to the Torah's ideal for a person. Most of the things we want to do, including mitzvot, require physical strength.. We have a free gift of strength until about age 30, after which it starts to decline, slowly at first and then more and more rapidly - unless we do something about it. It's not about form, it's about function. Which is good news for anyone who wants to stay strong - because it doesn't take much time.

Super Bowl Lesson #5 - Who's Watching? 

They say that the Super Bowl is the most watched sporting event on Planet Earth. Certainly it's the most watched event in the US. This is also a lesson for us. The Torah tells us that the purpose of a the Jewish People is to be a "kingdom of ministers" - what's that all about? Preaching? No - it means that we are meant to teach the world how to live ethical and holy lives by example. That's our chief job as Jews, and therefore, just like the Super Bowl, if you're Jewish, the whole world is watching. Don't ever forget it.


Shabbat Shalom

PS — Do you know how many days until Purim and Pesach?

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Ten Suggestions?

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Shabbat Table Talk from the desk of Rabbi Alexander Seinfeld

February 6-7, 2026 • 20 Shevat 5786 • Yithro (Exod 18-20).

This should be an easy question for your table:

Can you name the 10 Commandments?

Bonus: In correct order?

It's interesting but no random accident that they have become such an icon of Western culture and wherever Christianity has spread.

Albeit not without controversy. For instance, in 2018, Communist Party authorities in Henan Province forced a church there to remove one of the commandments, creating the world's first 9 Commandments.

Then there's the Los Lunas Decalogue Stone - ever heard of that (not to be confused with the Bat Creek Inscription)?

For many have argued (including Winston Churchill and Dennis Prager - click the above image) that the 10 Commandments are the foundation of Western Civilization. 

Let's perhaps put this thesis to the test.

Chances are that not everyone at your table will be able to name all ten in the correct order, so let's help them out.

First of all, as you can see in this screenshot from the Wikipedia page, there are major controversies over just what are the exact ten.

According to Jewish tradition, they are:

 1. Be a monotheist.
 2. Don't be a polytheist, pantheist, animist, scientist, atheist, or any alternative to monotheism.
 3. Don't misuse the Divine name.
 4. Keep and remember the Shabbat.
 5. Honor your parents.
 6. Don't murder.
 7. Don't commit adultery.
 8. Don't steal.
 9. Don't lie.
 10. Don't yearn to have something that isn't yours and isn't for sale.


So now that we have the What, what about the Why?

As Prager would say, Who can explain them in a way that makes sense to the modern eye and ear? 

Prager can.

But is Prager right that they create the moral foundation of Western Civilization? Or are they only a vestige of Medieval religious fanaticism?

Or, to put the question in more practical terms, could one create a totally moral society based on only nine of the ten commandments as proposed by Chinese Communist Party hacks?

Be circumspect in your answer, for how you answer the question could impact the future of Western Civilization!


Shabbat Shalom

PS — Do you know how many days until Purim and Pesach?

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This message may also be read online at Blogspot and Times of Israel (with an even cooler graphic).

Will the Real Shabbat Please Stand Up?

Shabbat Table Talk from the desk of Rabbi Alexander Seinfeld

Jan 30-31, 2026 • 13 Shevat 5786 • B'shalach (Exod 13-17).

Let's start this week's Table Talk with a trivia-istic question for the table:

What did the Quakers call the names of the week and why?

The answer: "First Day," "Second Day," and so on.

But why?

Before we answer, here's a second question to stump the table:

How do we know Saturday is Shabbat?

To explain the question:

Months have a clear astronomical sign. A new month = a new moon, quite simple.

Similarly, a Jewish year is always going to start on a new moon. By tradition, we start it on the new moon closest to the vernal equinox. 

But there is no similar way to determine the start of a week.

Therefore, when Christians moved their Sabbath to Sunday and Muslims moved theirs to Friday, they weren't breaking any rules.

So when and how did our Jewish week come out Sunday-Saturday? 

By the way, of the thousand reasons to go to Israel, one is to experience Yom Rishon - the first day of the week on Sunday.

Sound familiar? That's what the Quakers did.

The Quakers did so because they didn't like calling the days by the idolatrous names:

Sunday = Sun's day
Monday = Moon's day
Tuesday = Mars's day
Wednesday = Mercury's day
Thursday = Jupiter's day
Friday = Venus's day
Saturday = Saturn's day

(They did the same for the names of the months. And so do we - sort of.)

You might say, Well, no one worships those idols anymore, so they're just names.

I suppose you could ask that at your table, too: Are they just names? Or should a self-respecting monotheist try to avoid honoring them?

Can you think of any place names today that might raise the same objection?

How about Santa Cruz? Sacramento? Corpus-Christi?

In any event we still have a question to answer: How do we know that what we call Shabbat is the true 7th Day?

The answer is actually in this week's portion (parashah) - the mahn (manna) fell for only six days, and on the sixth day they received a double portion. That was the objective proof and became their rhythm for forty years.

We Jews have had our ups and downs, our expulsions and exiles, but have never stopped celebrating the Seventh Day.

Bottom-line question for your table: Does it really matter?

Shabbat Shalom

PS — Do you know how many days until Tu B'Shvat and Purim?

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While You Were Sleeping...

Shabbat Table Talk from the desk of Rabbi Alexander Seinfeld

Jan 23-24, 2026 • 6 Shevat 5786 • Bo (Exod 10-13).

In memory of Bertram Walker z''l, whose 40th Yarzheit was recently observed.

Do you know how many days until Tu B'Shvat and Purim?

In case you missed last week's snow crystal message....

Or perhaps you read it but missed clicking on the pic (they're always clickable)...

The link was to this remarkable little book, Ken Libbrecht's Field Guide to Snowflakes. 

Libbrecht is the Cal Tech physics professor who may possibly not be the world's foremost snowflake expert, but anyone who can say, "I'm a Cal Tech physics professor and I study snow crystals" should probably be taken seriously.

Based literally on his credentials and the cover, I bought his book this week. I didn't even bother reading the jacket text, which promises:

The next time the forecast calls for snow, you can be prepared with this fun, informative pocket-sized guide to the amazing world of snowflakes. This guide will not only explain the science behind these one-of-a-kind natural masterpieces, but showcases their delicate beauty through amazing microphotography of real snow crystals. You ll also learn about the most common types of snowflakes, their structures and patterns, when the most beautiful crystals are likely to fall, and how you can best observe and even photograph them.

How, you ask, does a professor in Pasadena, California, become the world's greatest snowflake expert?

For one, he grew up in Fargo, North Dakota.

For two, he makes them from scratch in his lab.

For three, as he tells in his book, he apparently knows the way to LAX, because his little book is full of gorgeous photos of snowflakes that he personally found in places like Ontario and Vermont.

He also provides a chart of the 35 major snow crystal (proper name for a snowflake) types and pictures and short explanations of how each type is formed. 

He also has tips on collecting and photographing snowflakes that anyone can try.

Now, what if you live in a place like Pasadena but don't know the way to LAX? What if you have no access to snow?

Yet another reason for making Aliyah? 


BTW, fun fact: Remember these snowflake stamps from 2006?

Those ain't drawings.

They're photos that Prof. Libbrecht personally took. 

(Not in his lab.)

(And if you click on it, it will take you to another Libbrecht book that won several awards.)

He also holds an official Guinness World Record for the largest snowflake ever documented - 10mm! Check out this beauty!

(BTW, lest anyone think he's a flaky guy, he also studies the sun, gravitational waves, and other heavy-duty physics stuff.)

The beauty and uniqueness of snowflakes, combined with their fragility, prompted last week's question, Are you a snowflake?

This week, since snowflakes are the stuff snowstorms are made of, we'll ask: In what two ways are current events like a snowstorm?

And for a bonus round, here's a trivia question which perhaps alludes to a third answer to the snowstorm question: What color is snow? (hint: not white)

Shabbat Shalom

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As always, the image above is click-able and this message can be read online.

Are You Like a Snowflake?

Shabbat Table Talk from the desk of Rabbi Alexander Seinfeld

Jan 16-17, 2026 • 28 Teves 5786 • Va'eira (Exod 6-9).

The title is meant to be a riff on last week's "Are You a Big Joe"...

Try this one at your table: 

Take a wild guess - how many snowflakes are falling somewhere in the world right now?

The answer is mind-boggling: About a million billion snowflakes fall each second, averaged over a typical year. That's enough snow to make one snowman for every person on earth every ten minutes.

OK, try this one: How many water droplets does it take to make a single snowflake, and how long does it take for it to form?

A: About 100,000 water droplets in a process that takes roughly 30-45 minutes.

The process starts when a single droplet freezes on a tiny (microscopic) spec of dust. 

(Clouds form the same way, just at warmer temperatures.)

I gave this week's message the title, "Are You Like a Snowflake" not because no two snowflakes are identical - I'm absolutely certain you are unique.

Rather, what I had in mind is the way that snowflakes grow. A tiny drop of water - which in our tradition represents Torah wisdom - latches on to what appears to be an insignificant spec of dust, and given the right nurturing can grow into something stunningly beautiful.

Is that you?

What's the catch?

Shabbat Shalom

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