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Ariel Ben Avraham

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Jun 30, 2018, 11:40 PM

Parshat Pinchas: The powerful of the jealousy of goodness

“Pinchas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, has turned My wrath away from the children of Israel, in that he was very jealous for My sake among them so that I consumed not the children...

Jun 24, 2018, 7:45 AM

Parshat Balak: Blessings are forever (II)

“God is not a man that He should lie; neither the son of man that He should repent. When He has said, will He not do it? Or when He has spoken, will He not fulfill it so?” (Numbers...

Jun 17, 2018, 12:59 AM

Parshat Chukat: The persuasion of goodness

The first chapters of the book of Genesis tell us about the power of speech; first, as the means to create by God, and later by Adam when he called his wife “the mother of all the living”, and...

Jun 10, 2018, 12:57 AM

Parshat Korach: Defining our closeness to God (II)

“And Moses sent to call Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab; and they said, ‘We will not come up’.” (Numbers 16:12) This verse invites us to reflect on characters and their choices. Our oral tradition teaches that in the...

Jun 2, 2018, 11:21 PM

Parshat Shelach: Choosing back to goodness as the Promised Land

We have said often that the Promised Land is a state of consciousness manifest in a geographic space in the material world, a territory which all that contains is an expression of its nature. Again, the Jewish tradition understands...

May 26, 2018, 11:27 PM

Parshat Behaalotecha: Transitioning to goodness

“And I have given the Levites, --they are given to Aaron and to his sons from among the children of Israel --, to do the service of the children of Israel in the tent of meeting, and to make...

May 20, 2018, 10:58 PM

Parshat Naso: The priest in our consciousness (II)

This is one of the portions in the Torah that highlights the meaning of priesthood in Judaism. Priesthood has made many uncomfortable throughout history, since its inception as one of the pillars of the Jewish tradition. This derives from...

May 14, 2018, 10:37 AM

Israel’s dilemma with Netta Barzilai

While most of Israelis are celebrating the widely anticipated success of Netta Barzilai in Eurovision, they seem to ignore the implications of this international cultural moment for Israel. Netta’s impressive artistic talent is not in question here, nor her vindicating...

May 12, 2018, 11:06 PM

Parshat Bamidbar: Living our relationship with the Creator (II)

“Each by his banner, with ensigns of the house of their fathers, do the sons of Israel encamp; over-against round about the tent of meeting they encamp.” (Numbers 2:2) We have mentioned often that the twelve tribes of Israel...

May 5, 2018, 11:28 PM

Parshat Bechukotai: Living life as the blessing of goodness (II)

“If ye walk in My statutes, and keep My commandments, and do them…” (Leviticus 26:3) We have referred often to the conditionality derived from the consequences of the choices we make. Conditions appear based on the result or outcome of...

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About Me

Ariel Ben Avraham was born in Colombia (1958) from a family with Sephardic ancestry, descendants of Jews forced to convert to Christianity. Studied Cultural Anthropology in Bogota. He lived 20 years in Chicago working as a radio and television producer and writer. Moved to Israel in 2004, converted to Orthodox Judaism in 2006 in Jerusalem. He lived in Safed for four years studying the Chassidic tradition and currently lives in Haifa.