In trying to develop the potential of man, the Mussar movement[1] developed two different approaches to the sinning of man. One school of…
Rosh Hashanah: A Matter of Time
Rosh Hashanah marks the beginning of the new year. But strangely, it does not mark the end of the old year. That task belongs to the holiday of…
Tisha B'Av: Greetings
“Everything is dependent on mazal, even the sefer Torah in the ark”. Certain mitzvoth just luck out, being widely observed across the…
Shavuot: Whose Torah Is It?
The holiday of Shavuot is, outside of the observant Jewish community, a much-neglected holiday. It lasts only one day (two in the Diaspora), comes…
Some Thoughts on Yom Yerushalayim
"There are ten [levels of] holiness; the land of Israel is holier than all other countries, and what is its holiness? That we bring from it the …
Yom Ha'atzmaut: From Yom HaZikaron to Yom Ha'atzmaut
This d'var Torah is dedicated in honour of the participants in Chidon HaTanach, the 50th International Bible Contest taking place on Yom Ha'atzmaut…
Pesach: Shaping Tomorrow
Adam and Eve, Noach and his anonymous wife, Abraham and Sarah (and Hagar), Yitzchak and Rivka, Yaakov and his multiple wives, Moshe and Tziporah, all…
Asara B'Tevet: Torah in Translation
Language plays a crucial role in national identity. Those of us living in Canada know how sensitive issues of language can be. Theodore Herzl devoted…
Simchat Torah: Two Days or One?
This week’s d'var Torah is sponsored in honour of the 80th birthday of Bashi (Esther) Burack by her children and grandchildren. May she go from…
Sukkot: Leaving Home
"And you shall take for yourself on the first day a beautiful fruit of the tree, an unopened palm frond, myrtle branches, and willows and you shall…
Yom Kippur: The Month After
“For the sin we committed by wronging a neighbour, for the sin we committed by bribery, for the sin we committed in our business dealings”. On and on…
Rosh Hashanah: Time to Remember
"Blow the shofar at the [beginning] of the month, when the day of our holiday is covered". Rosh Hashanah is the only one of our holidays celebrated…
Tisha B'Av: Courage of Convictions
“Do not be afraid of [any] man”. Parshat Devarim, which is always read on the Shabbat before Tisha B’Av, begins with Moshe’s exhortations regarding…
Yom Ha'atzmaut: Turning Dreams Into Reality
“When G-d brought back those who returned to Zion, we were like dreamers” (Psalms 126). Who would have believed that after 1,900 years—and a mere…
Pesach: Who Is Invited to the Seder?
"And the more one engages in the recounting the story of the Exodus, the more praiseworthy it is". To prove this point, the Haggadah recounts the…
Pesach Cleaning: The New Slavery
Like so many children, Pesach was my favourite holiday. Some of my fondest memories revolve around the seder. As an adult, not much has changed…
Shushan Purim: United People, Divided Holiday
“And Haman said to King Achashverosh: There is a certain nation scattered and divided amongst the nations” (3:8). Haman was well aware of the…
Shemini Atzeret & Simchat Torah: Peace, Faith, and Learning
The 14th-century legal code, the Arba Turim, the Four Rows, begins the laws of Sukkot by noting that when one sits in a sukkah, one must be cognizant…