“And G-d spoke to Moshe after the death of the two children of Aharon when they came close before G-d and they died” (Vayikra 16:1). The Torah then…
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Yom Kippur: Sinning Under Duress
“For the sin we sinned before You, b’ones u’beratzon, under duress and willingly. So begins the litany of al chets, the double acrostic listing of…
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Yom Kippur: a Marriage Made in Heaven
“How majestic was the kohen gadol as he left the Holy of Holies in peace, without injury…like the kindness that is placed on the bridegroom’s face…
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Yom Kippur: Far and Near
“With the approval of Hamakom, the Omnipresent, and with the approval of the congregation, in the convocation of the court above, and in the…
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Yom Kippur: Long Term Planning
“We work and get reward and they work and do not get reward?” This statement, said when one completes a Talmudic tractate, articulates a…
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Aseret Yemi Teshuva: The Freedom to Choose
“In a place where ba’alei teshuva stand there, not even the fully righteous can stand” (Brachot 34b). This teaching is generally…
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Yom Kippur: The Day After
“It was on the next day…” (Shemot 18:13). Apparently, something of significance had happened on the previous day, yet the Torah makes no mention of…
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Yom Kippur: A Great Day!
Our society worships greatness. Whether it be athletes, rock stars, actors or successful business leaders, they are showered with wealth and…
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Aseret Yemi Teshuva: I Confess
Integral to the teshuva process is the act of vidui, confession. One can intellectually know one has done something wrong; one can even feel…
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Yom Kippur: Welcoming the Evil Inclination
“For the sin that we sinned before you with the evil inclination”. The double alphabetic acrostic of the al chet lists a…
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Let's Listen To Some Lashon Hara
“Rav Yehuda said in the name of Rav: the majority [of people sin] regarding theft, a minority regarding adultery, and all with lashon hara…
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Yom Kippur: Bedtime Stories
The Shulchan Aruch (Orach Chaim 619:6) quotes a custom to remain in shul through the night of Yom Kippur, singing songs of praise to G-d.…
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Yom Kippur: Play Ball!
“There are those who acquire their world in one moment” (Avodah Zara 18a). One action can define a life. While some people have to work…
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Yom Kippur: Where Are You?
“On Rosh Hashanah it is written and on Yom Kippur it is sealed.” No two holidays are as thematically connected as Rosh Hashanah and Yom…
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Yom Kippur: It's Not My Fault
The two central and most important tefillot of Yom Kippur are the yud gimmel middot harachamim, the 13 Attributes of mercy, and the al chets, the…
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Some Concluding Thoughts on Seder Moed
The Jewish people had sinned, and their future stood in the balance. G-d's initial plans to destroy the people were…
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Yom Kippur: A Most Beautiful Day
"Rav Yochanan said: Were it not written in the text, it would be impossible for us to say such a thing; this verse teaches us that the Holy One…
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Chagigah 16: Good Intentions, Bad Results
"The gates of repentance are always open". Yom Kippur is predicated on the possibility of teshuva at all times for all people[1…