The period of sefirat haomer has undergone great transformation over the ages. In the Torah itself, it links the korban haomer …
![](/sites/default/files/styles/380x240/public/Giza%20Pyramids.jpg?itok=llIRUqgJ)
Last Day(s) of Pesach: Reach for the Top
As we all know too well, there is often a gap between the ideal and reality. In trying to implement our goals, we all too often fall prey to conflict…
![](/sites/default/files/styles/380x240/public/shutterstock_727090801.jpg?itok=XKH3vn7I)
Pesach: Have You Left Egypt?
“In each and every generation, one must see oneself as if they had left Egypt”. In Judaism, we not only commemorate the past, we…
![](/sites/default/files/styles/380x240/public/shutterstock_1097370959.jpg?itok=BzEzKXhx)
Purim: Ignoring G-d!
Purim celebrates the eternity of the Jewish people. Despite exile and dispersion, genocidal enemies and those willing to turn a blind eye to such,…
![](/sites/default/files/styles/380x240/public/1863287617%20menorah%20in%20sunset%202%20compressed.jpg?itok=_aYyaSZM)
Chanukah: A Special Nation
One of the painful realities of Jewish life is that the Jewish people are often judged by a double standard. What in other cultures is done with…
![](/sites/default/files/styles/380x240/public/shutterstock_1499634446.jpg?itok=-9quTumN)
Sukkot: The Beauty of the Etrog
Judaism is not oblivious to the power and even importance of physical beauty. Phrases such as yefat tohar v’yefot ma’areh, loosely…
![](/sites/default/files/styles/380x240/public/shutterstock_1742227652.jpg?itok=zwJSIRHI)
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…
![](/sites/default/files/styles/380x240/public/shutterstock_1903898860.jpg?itok=BTOuUC1v)
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…
![](/sites/default/files/styles/380x240/public/shutterstock_1916261231.jpg?itok=PCTviKuA)
Shavuot: Eating Out
How should one celebrate the receiving of the Torah? The Talmud (Pesachim 68b) quotes a seemingly strange argument as to how to properly celebrate…
![](/sites/default/files/styles/380x240/public/shutterstock_1574930713.jpg?itok=Ibbvn0Xa)
Lag B'Omer: Opposites Attract
It is hard to imagine two people who had a greater influence on the development of Judaism during the dark period of Roman persecution than Rabbi…
![](/sites/default/files/styles/380x240/public/shutterstock_1944528172.jpg?itok=7oqsOWhQ)
Yom Ha'atzmaut: Turning Seventy
“And Yaakov worked for Rachel for seven years, and they appeared in his eyes like just a few because of his love for her” (Breisheet 29:…
![](/sites/default/files/styles/380x240/public/matzah-1566456_640.jpg?itok=xS7NqmTK)
Pesach: Preparing to Eat
Twice a year, on Yom Kippur and at the Pesach seder, we conclude with the prayer L’shanna haba’ah b’Yerushalayim. It is…
![](/sites/default/files/styles/380x240/public/anonimmus-930863_640_0.jpg?itok=5EBh3Slc)
Purim: Where is Haman?
"Where is Haman recorded in the Torah?" So asks the Talmud (Chulin 139b), in a seemingly incomprehensible question. Surely one would…
![](/sites/default/files/styles/380x240/public/Hannukah.jpg?itok=0Jxig-BF)
Chanukah: Looking Backward and Forward
The holiday of Chanukah is a most beloved one. Lighting the candles is the only mitzvah that has, built into its performance, a three-tiered system:…
![](/sites/default/files/styles/380x240/public/pikiwiki_israel_23373_religion_in_israel_1.jpg?itok=iLE0fIEz)
Sukkot: All in One
Sukkot marks the beginning of the end of the holiday season. As the fall season commences, and as the days get progressively shorter and colder,…
![](/sites/default/files/styles/380x240/public/book-1824814_640.jpg?itok=EdDvTmMW)
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.…
![](/sites/default/files/styles/380x240/public/shofar_ap_phot_bernat_armangue.jpg?itok=nUn3D3Mv)
Rosh Hashanah: Time for Prayer
Rosh Hashanah is first and foremost a day of prayer. Prayer, as Rav Soloveitchik often noted, is rooted in asking G-d to fulfil our needs. One who is…
![](/sites/default/files/styles/380x240/public/sunrise_mountain.jpg?itok=i4o1NvBq)
Shavuot: Messianic Origins
“And these are the generations of Peretz…. Shalmon begot Boaz…and Yishai begot David" (Rut 4:18-22). So ends the Book of Rut, read on Shavuot,…