The period of sefirat haomer has undergone great transformation over the ages. In the Torah itself, it links the korban haomer …
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…
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…
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,…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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:…
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…
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…
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:…
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,…
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.…
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…
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,…