“Every day they [the mitzvot of the Torah] should be like new”. With the exception of Coca-Cola, we like that which is new. We tend to associate new…
“And G-d spoke to Moshe after the death of the two children of Aharon when they came close before G-d and they died” (Vayikra 16:1). The Torah then…
Jewish life is all too often rather chaotic. Yet Pesach and Yom Kippur, the two central holidays of the year[1] teach the importance of seder, order…
It is hard to argue that there is a more impactful and important rabbinic decree than that of kriat haTorah, the weekly public reading of the Torah.…
“Rabban Gamliel would say: Anyone who does not say these three things on Pesaḥ has not fulfilled his obligation, and these are they: [the korban]…
The decree has been promulgated and publicized through the empire. 127 provinces have received “hurried” instructions that they should “destroy,…
“And you shall take for yourselves on the first day, the fruit of the hadar tree, date palm fronds, a branch of a braided tree, and willows of the…
“For the sin we sinned before You, b’ones u’beratzon, under duress and willingly. So begins the litany of al chets, the double acrostic listing of…
“Ubechen, Please G-d instill pachdecha, terror upon all Your works and eimatecha, Your dread upon all that You have created”. So begins the Amidah on…
Our holidays form natural units, as none truly stand alone. The 49 days of the omer link Pesach to Shavuot. We begin the holiday cycle by celebrating…
“Rav Yochanan said: Jerusalem was destroyed only because they followed the laws of the Torah” (Bava Metzia 30b). The Talmud is incredulous at such an…
It is the omer, a measure of barley, that unites the Biblical holidays of Pesach and Sukkot. With no calenderic date Shavuot occurs on the day after…
A legal system by its very nature is detail oriented. While laws represent the values of any given society, a law once established takes on an…
“Go out and learn what Lavan the Aramean sought to do to Yaakov, our father. Pharaoh only decreed on the males but Lavan sought to uproot everything…
One of the (many) strange features of Purim is the fact that we do not recite Hallel. “The Prophets among them established [Hallel] for the Jewish…
Ask any child – or adult for that matter – how we celebrate Chanukah and chances are beyond pretty good that the answer will be by lighting the…
Holidays are a most opportune time to instill in our children the values and character traits that personify a Jewish lifestyle. At first glance…
When studying literature we must study not only its content, but also its form. This is especially true in the study of poetry, where the words…
Holidays are a most opportune time to instill in our children the values and character traits that personify a Jewish lifestyle. At first glance…
“How majestic was the kohen gadol as he left the Holy of Holies in peace, without injury…like the kindness that is placed on the bridegroom’s face…
One does not have to look very hard to find sources within our tradition that allow, encourage, or even demand that we “hate” others. While the…
This year, Shavuot falls on a Sunday. This rather unremarkable observation is of little import today; but had we been living in Temple times, or even…
Lag BaOmer is a mysterious holiday. There is no mention of it in the Gemara, a fact that led the Chatam Sofer to object to the many practices of the…
Four, seven, ten, eighteen, forty, seventy, for Jews around the world have an immediate and reflective association(s). The four questions, seven days…