Essays are an extension of our parsha and Gematria studies classes which discuss specific subjects for the direction and upliftment of Kal Yisroel. This essay study is dedicated in the loving memory of Mr. Paul Sakash, may he rest in peace.

Difference
What do Charlie the Chipmunk and Connie the Cunning Fox have to do with you and your spouse?  Charlie and Connie were born different. Charlie was born a chipmunk. Connie was born a fox. Just as the Creator made Charlie and Connie as different species, He selected the descendants of Abraham to be different, to be separated from the rest of the world.  The Bible teaches us to live differently  from the rest of the religions of the world. Even though some of us ignore this by trying very hard to blend in, we are still different!
A Jew is a Jew because his or her parents are Jewish or at the very least the mother is Jewish. (Some groups recognize a person as Jewish if their father is Jewish.) Being Jewish is not a selective process like in other religions. (One can convert but we discourage it.) It is from conception! Being Jewish has nothing to do with a person's degree of observance. It is based upon one's birth! If you are born Jewish you are always a Jew.  If a Jew converts to another religion he or she is still Jewish! If a Jew denies Judaism they are still Jewish! A Jew is always Jewish. For example: If your great grandmother was Jewish it is very possible that you may be Jewish even though your grand mother and mother are not observant and were never observant. They may even be ardent followers of another religion and you could still be Jewish. So what does this mean?

Within the soul of every Jew is a light placed there by G-d. Even though that light might be just a small flicker buried deep within a Jew's unconsciousness, it is there waiting to grow into a great flame! The light never dies! In fact the Bible teaches that Jews who are so far removed and even undetectable as being Jewish will remember and return to G-d! How can a Jew remember something they never learned? There are some things that do not have to be taught. Those things are born within a person. Like the great Samoans who return to the place of their birth, Jews return to the G-d of their faith. Return