"On the first day, you must take for yourself a fruit of the citron tree, an opened palm frond, myrtle branches, and willows of the brook, and you…
Yom Kippur: Far and Near
“With the approval of Hamakom, the Omnipresent, and with the approval of the congregation, in the convocation of the court above, and in the…
Rosh Hashanah: Sounding the Shofar
The blowing of the shofar is a most enigmatic mitzvah. The reasons we eat matzah, sit in the Sukkah or take the lulav are readily…
Tu B'Av: The Happiest Day
“Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel said: There were no days more joyous than the 15th of Av (Tu B'Av) and Yom Kippur, for on those days the daughters of…
Tisha B'Av: Greetings and Salutations
Judaism places great emphasis on the proper greeting of people. The Talmudic term for a greeting, a sheilat shalom, invokes a reference to G-d,…
Yom Yerushalayim: Where is Jerusalem?
One could quite reasonably make the argument that the overarching goal of the Torah is the establishment of a Jewish state that will serve as a model…
Yom Haatzmaut: Stuck in Traffic
A few years ago while on a visit to Israel, my good friend Michael Levenstein z”l, in whose memory this devar Torah is dedicated, was giving my wife…
Pesach: Egyptian Economic Activity
Moshe Rabbeinu was our teacher par excellence. As a great pedagogue, he understood the importance of teaching subject material in a timely manner. “…
Pesach: Don't Forget Yosef
The eating of karpas has long baffled our commentators. Why exactly do we dip a vegetable in salt water just as we are ready to begin the…
Parshat Hachodesh: Timing is Everything
“In the first month of the second year on the first of the month, the Tabernacle was erected” (Shemot 40:2). Sefer Shemot concludes with…
Purim: Shaping Jewish History
Rare is the person who has the opportunity to knowingly shape the course of Jewish history. Most are happy to be relieved of that responsibility.…
Parshat Zachor: Defeating Evil
"He shall surely be put to death." "They shall be pelted with stones and thus stoned to death." "He shall be burned with fire." "…
Some Reflections on the year 2020
“Ezra enacted for the Jewish people that they should read the curses that are recorded in Vayikra before Shavuot and […
Asara b'Tevet and Christmas
For better or worse, in the minds of many—Jew and non-Jew alike—Chanukah and Christmas are two sides of a similar, if not the same, coin. Chanukah is…
Chanukah: Clothes Make the Man
There is no more powerful symbol than light in our tradition. It is how we usher in the Shabbat, march down the wedding aisle, mark the yahrzeit of a…
Chanukah: Back to the Future
Mai Chanukah? What is Chanukah? the Talmud (Shabbat 21ba) queries, a question we find with respect to no other holiday. The Talmud explains that…
Shmini Atzeret: A Dual Holiday
The Jewish holidays have two distinct themes. The shalosh regalim, three pilgrim festivals of Pesach, Shavuot and Sukkot, occurring at key…
Sukkot: Leading by Example
For many years, students were introduced to the study of Talmud with Eilu Metziot, the second chapter of masechet Bava Metzia, focusing on the…