One of the beautiful aspects of the Torah is that it presents its “heroes” not only through their…
Shmini Atzeret & Simchat Torah: Two Holidays or One?
Simchat Torah is a medieval invention, a holiday designed by and for the Jews of chutz la’aretz,…
Sukkot: The Right Season
If asked which holiday Rosh Hashanah is most connected to, I think most of us would, for very good…
Yom Kippur: What Comes Next?
Yom Kippur is a means to an end. We spend the day in shul, confess our sins, plead for forgiveness…
Rosh Hashanah: Once in a Yovel
We know very little about Rosh Hashanah – at least from a Biblical perspective. There is no…
Ki Tavo: Language Barriers
Those of us living in Canada are especially sensitive to the importance of language to the fabric…
Shoftim: Chopping Trees
War brings out the worst in people. Rape, unjustified killings, pillage, random acts of destruction…
Re'eh: G-d's Children
Parshat Re’eh contains a series of laws that on the surface have little to do with each other. As…
Va'etchanan: For The People
Ask anyone with a rudimentary knowledge of the Bible why Moshe could not enter the Land of Israel…
Eikev: Loving G-d
Eight times – interestingly, all in sefer Devarim – the Torah tells us we are to love G-d, the…
Reflections on Tisha B'Av
Tisha b’Av is the day of national Jewish mourning. It was on this day that “our House was destroyed…
Devarim: Just Courts
“"The signature of G-d is truth" (Shabbat 55a). Our Torah, which serves as a description of G-d, is…
Impressions from Italy: Italian Rabbis
Italian Jewry is unique in many ways. Predating Ashkenazim and Sephardim, to this day they maintain…
Impressions from Italy: Visiting Venice
It is hard to imagine a more unique travel destination than Venice. Built on a series of tiny…
Massei: The Details are for Later
“And the Egyptians were burying all their first born, who had been killed by G-d” (Bamidbar 33:4).…
Impressions from Italy: From Pitigliano to Florence
Few people who travel to Italy travel to Pitigliano[1]. It is nestled in the mountains far away…
Impressions from Italy: When in Rome Do as the Romans Do
“Therefore it is our duty to thank, praise, laud, glorify, exalt, honor, bless, raise high, and…
Impressions from Italy: Rome and Jerusalem
A city close to 3,000 years old, capital of its modern counterpart, a walled old city surrounded by…