For seven days a year, one is to “make his home temporary and his Sukkah permanent”. Ideally, we move our finest furniture, china, and…
The Sukkah of Yom Kippur
As important (if not more so) as what one says is how it is said, when it is said, and what is not said. This is equally true regarding both our…
Yom Kippur: Long Term Planning
“We work and get reward and they work and do not get reward?” This statement, said when one completes a Talmudic tractate, articulates a…
Aseret Yemi Teshuva: The Freedom to Choose
“In a place where ba’alei teshuva stand there, not even the fully righteous can stand” (Brachot 34b). This teaching is generally…
Rosh Hashanah: Time for Change
Man has a tremendous capacity for self-deception. We easily see faults in others; somehow, we miss them in ourselves. Teshuva, repentance,…
Some Thoughts on This Year's Yamim Noraim
The Yamim Noraim of the year 70 must have been quite traumatic. The Temple had been destroyed less than two months earlier and thousands lay dead,…
Tu B'Av: Breaking the Glass
One of the best-known wedding customs is the breaking of a glass during the chuppah. The common explanation given for this custom is that it serves…
Tisha B'Av: Back to School
If someone gives you ten answers to a question, the one thing you can be assured of is that none of the answers is a very a good one. If one has a…
The Nine Days: Aharon's Yahrzeit
“Aharon the priest ascended Hor Hahar and died there in the fortieth year... in the fifth month on the first of the month” (Bamidbar 33:…
Shavuot: An Evolving Torah
“Rav Yossi said: It would have been appropriate had the Torah been given through Ezra, but Moshe preceded him… and even though the Torah…
Yom Yerushalayim: Natural and Supernatural
The Jewish nation waited for close to 1,900 years to regain sovereignty over G-d’s chosen land. It took an additional 19 years until…
Yom Haatzmaut: Thoughts at Seventy-two
“Shimon ben Azzai said: I have received a tradition from the seventy-two elders on the day when they appointed Rabbi Elazar ben Azariah…
Pesach: The Simple Wise Son
Much ink has been spilled and much discussion ensued in trying to analyze the difference between the question of the chacham and the rasha. On the…
Purim: Time for a Change
Purim marks a transition point in Jewish history. It ushers in the time period of hester panim, the transition from G-d's obvious and active…
Chanukah: Timing the Market
Before there were clocks and standard time, time was determined in relation to the position of the sun—hence, the importance of the sundial. As…
Chanukah: An Eternal Message
One of the painful realties of Jewish life is that the Jewish people are often judged by a double standard. What in other cultures is done with…
Shmini Atzeret: Election Day
Tomorrow is Shmini Atzeret. It is also Election Day in Canada. While that is no doubt unfortunate for (observant) Jews, these days, Election Day is a…
Shabbat Chol Hamoed: Opposites Attract
Sukkot is a holiday full of contradictions. At the time we celebrate our harvest, we are bidden to leave the comfort of our home and expose ourselves…