Mother Rachel and the Birth of Natural Consciousness
Kabbalah teaches that mother Rachel symbolizes the Jewish People.
Tisha B’Av – The Ninth of Av
Overview and laws of the Jewish national day of mourning.
The Lion And The Fox
The second Temple was destroyed because of baseless hatred, represented by the fox, which the sages saw emerging from the ruins. With the cunning and guile of a fox, the evil inclination instigates and stimulates baseless hatred, dissent, and strife.
‘To Be A Bee Or Not To Be, A Bee’
An elderly carpenter was eagerly preparing for retirement. When he informed his employer/contractor of his plans, the employer asked him if he could do him a personal favor and build one more house before he left. After so many years of working together the carpenter felt he could not refuse, and so he begrudgingly agreed. It quickly became apparent that the carpenter’s heart was not in his work. He resorted to shoddy workmanship and he used inferior quality materials. It was an unfortunate way to end a dedicated career.
What?! A Passover Seder in a Rural Village in ZIMBABWE?!
The Lemba tribe (Southern Africa) have an oral tradition they're descendants of Israel's Lost Tribes
The Mystical Message Of The Chanukah Dreidel
Chanukah commemorates our victory over the Syrian-Greeks and the Hellenists – Jews who betrayed their own people in order to curry favor with the gentiles.
Passover Guide for the Perplexed 2020
Next Year in the rebuilt JerUSAlem
Tisha B’Av 2020: Call of the Shofar
May we soon celebrate together at a rebuilt Beit HaMikdash.
Rabbi Shimshon Nadel: My Essential Haggadot
With thousands of Haggadot in print, it can be overwhelming to decide what to buy and what to use at the Seder. Just like kashering the home for Pesach requires preparation, so too the material for the Seder. And according to the investment is the return. Below are twenty of my favorite Haggadot.
Five Terms Of Endearment – So Why Only Four Cups Of Wine?
The number four seems to play a major role in the Pesach Seder. We have four questions, four sons, four terms of endearment and, of course, one of the major features we soon will be enjoying – the drinking of four cups of wine.
Seder Customs From Around The World
The house is clean. The last bit of chametz has been burned. What happens next?
The Psychopath Inside: Yom Kippur, Free Will & Determinism
At the start of a new year, we need to realize that we absolutely can change if we want to. Yes, we have predispositions and predilections, but they don’t have to define us; we can do whatever we want with them.
Israeli Foreign Ministry Says ‘No Choice’ on Closing Chabad’s Nepal Seder
The labor action has prevented the far-flung Israeli embassy from providing the much-needed goods for the Chabad-Lubavitch seder in Nepal -- a world-famous event that draws nearly a thousand people annually to Katmandu.
Building Israel and Battling Terrorism, One Tree at a Time
Alan and Rosaline Barron are kicking off their new mission sponsored by JNF right before the Jewish festival of Tu B’Shevat—the “New Year for Trees”—a time of renewal, and a celebration of nature and the environment. They are encouraging others to do the same.
Award-Winning Author Explores the Halakhot of Drinking on Purim
One can drink up to the Talmud's criterion to confuse Mordechai and Haman-but not beyond.
‘Shmurah Matzah’: For the Seder or All of Pesach?
The Shulchan Aruch does not even mention the opinion of the Rif and Rambam and states explicitly that the requirement of guarding applies only to the matzah used for the Seder.
The Audacity of Redemption
It has been said ‘It is easier to take the Jew out of the Exile, than to take the Exile out of the Jew’. While in Egypt, the Jewish people could not even hear Hashem’s promise of Redemption because of their “shortness of spirit.” Their bondage wasn’t merely a physical bondage, but a mental one. And so, while still in Egypt, Hashem began the process of taking the Jew out of the psychology of Exile, ridding him of his slave mentality.
What Are We Fasting For?
A few years ago, I happened to be in Los Angeles for the fast of Tisha B'Av. Towards the end of the fast, between afternoon and evening prayers, the rabbi of the shul asked if I could say a few words to the congregation to explain the significance of the holy day and the fast.
Making Proper Kabbalos: A Guide
Although it might not be immediately intuitive, valuing yashan flour will come at the expense of valuing lashon hara.
As we were once strangers in a land that was not ours, how does...
With all the talk today about immigration, we asked some ofour rabbanim to answer the following question...
ABC’s of Chanukah (Hanukkah)
The Hebrew word Chanukah means "dedication." When the Greeks challenged Jewish life, a few courageous Jews took to the hills of Judea in open revolt against this threat.
Canvas Sukkah: Practical Or Pasul?
It seems unlikely that even the stringent opinion requires that sukkah walls be completely motionless when a wind blows.
Chanukah: Re-Examining Our Ideological Battle Against the Greeks
Ideally,nthe physical wisdom of the Greeks and Yefes are to reside within the tent of Shem, for science and the wisdom of the world to be in harmony with Torah. The problem occurred when the Greeks tried to destroy the Torah, which contradicted their ideology, and the Jews were forced to fight for their beliefs. This was the battle of Chanukah.
Going Dry, Going To Grape Juice: Prohibition, Wine, and Hilchos Kiddush
In some cases, non-Jews joined synagogues to reap the alcoholic benefits of Judaism under Prohibition!
Guide for the Perplexed: The Ninth Day of Av
A many-layered day, central to Jewish history.
As Shemita Ebbs Away….
In a number of places, our rabbis tell us that Shemita is the Key to Redemption.
Halachic Questions
Once this took place, no Beit Din could annul its practice but for an entirely different reason. A minhag accepted by klal Yisrael becomes an obligation that must be practiced.
The Customs Of Tu B’Shvat
One should take the opportunity afforded by Tu B'Shvat to reflect and thank G-d for the fruits that He has created for our enjoyment.
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