“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…
Rosh Hashanah: A Redemptive Moment
One of the strengths of the Jewish people is our ability to focus on the future. What we do tomorrow is more important than we did yesterday. The…
Tisha B'Av: Doing Nothing
"Because of Kamtza and Bar Kamtza Jerusalem was destroyed.” (Gitin 55b) So begins the most famous Talmudic story relating to the destruction of the…
Yom Ha'atzmaut 68
“In every generation one must see himself as if he had left Egypt.” Pesach may seem like a distant memory despite it having concluded less than two…
Pesach: Old Questions, New Answers
“Chanoch lena’ar al pi darcho, train each child according to their way” (Mishlei). It is at the Seder that we analyze the questions of the “four…
Pesach: The Wise and Wicked
The Seder night brings together Jews from all orientations and perspectives. The future redemption of the Jewish people, a theme which is central to…
Shabbat Hagadol: Redemption is Near?
Historians and sociologists have long debated whether it is historical trends that determine the course of events, the historical personalities being…
Shushan Purim: From Purim to Pesach
“When Adar enters, we increase our joy” (Taanit 29a). Presumably, the increased joy is due to the upcoming Purim festivities, the most joyous of…
Purim: One Is More Than Many
"It was contemptible in his eyes to harm Mordechai alone; for they identified for him the people of Mordechai; Haman sought to destroy all the Jews…
Adar Sheni: Two Redemptions
Imagine if every few years the Gregorian calendar had two Decembers. When would people shop? We of course are faced with a similar dilemma seven…
Chanukah: The Dark Days of Winter
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,…
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…
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…