Of all our holidays, only that of Chanukah begins in the second half of the month. Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur and Shavuot occur towards the beginning…
V'zot HaBracha: It Too is a Blessing
In one of the great mistakes in history, Alfred Nobel was lucky enough to read his own obituary—a result of an error of an editor who printed…
Sukkot: From Eisav to Shmitta
"And you shall dwell in sukkot for seven days, all citizens of Israel shall dwell in a sukkah so that your generations may know that I made the…
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…
Rosh Hashanah: A Great Gift!
Teshuva tefillah, utzedkaha ma’aveerim et roah hagezeirah - repentance, prayer and tzedakah remove the evil of the decree. Prayer is a great…
The Three Weeks: Through the Eyes of a Child
With the destruction of the Temple and the Babylonian exile, the period of prophecy came to an end. "Only fools and children continue to…
Shavuot: Strange Bedfellows
Chanukah and Purim. Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. Sukkot and Shmini Atzeret. The aforementioned holidays form natural units. When one thinks of…
Yom Ha'atzmaut 67
When speaking at a wedding, brit, bar or bat mitzvah and the like, one generally looks to the parsha of the week to find some connection. Some are…
Pesach: Looking Forward
There is something most beautiful about a holiday that celebrates our past being focused on future, on our children. Pesach marks the founding of our…
Pesach: Pass the Karpas
"Therefore, in every generation, one must see themselves as if they have left Egypt”. All too often, we can only fully appreciate what we have when…
The Fast of the Eighth of Tevet: Lost in Translation
"I recall with distress that which befell me; with three blows He struck me this month...He surrounded me on the eighth day with darkness, left…
Mai Chanukah
"Mai Chanukah? What is Chanukah?" (Shabbat 21b). To this rather strange question, the Gemara answers, "Our Rabbis taught: From the twenty-fifth of…
Hoshana Rabbah: Water Falls
"On the Yom Tov of the last day, we read 'Kol Habechor, every first born'" (Devarim 15:19, Megillah 31a). Finding an appropriate Torah reading for…
Sukkot: The Twin Pillars
Pesach and Sukkot are the twin pillars of the Jewish year. They are exactly six months apart, each on the fifteenth day of the first month of their…
Chagigah 14: Acher, Please Return
One of the hallmarks of the Western world is its inclusiveness. Great attempts are made to make all feel included, no matter their ability or their…
Rosh Hashanah: Do I Need to Pray?
"On Rosh Hashanah, we read 'on the seventh month on the first day', and the maftir reads, 'is not Ephraim my…
Tisha B'Av: The Joy of Jerusalem
"Whoever mourns for Jerusalem will merit seeing its joy" (Ta'anit 30b). Our Sages seem to be offering words of comfort to those…
Shavuot: Why Were We Chosen?
"It was taught in the name of Rabbi Meir: Why was the Torah given to the Jewish people?" (Beitzah 25a). The simple answer—made famous by a Midrash…