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The thunderous, urgently repeated “Ya’amod” precipitated a virtual kibbutz galuyos that made my heart skip a beat and my breath catch in my throat.

Keriat haTorah, properly understood, is a performative act. It is a weekly recreation of the revelation at Mount Sinai. It is a covenant ratification ceremony like the one Moshe performed at Sinai:

The sukkah, like the chupah, is pure and simple. It is symbolic of a strong spiritual connection.

To my shock, you see, after 21 years of living and working in the U.K., Rivkie, Yossi, and family announced that they were returning to live in the U.S.

If the walls have ears (as the Midrash points out) then how much more so, human beings.

It is almost as if Sukkot were two festivals, not one.

We see from this Midrash that the mitzvah of lulav is connected to the process of forgiveness of Yom Kippur. It is the final step that we must perform before Hashem can forgive all of our aveiros.

The Malbim argues that “asifah” connotes bringing inside what one has gathered, while “kovetz” connotes gathering without necessarily bringing inside.

And when the time finally comes to have the verdict read out loud, one can just imagine how tense and scared this person will be to find out if his life will now go back to normal, more or less, or be changed for the worse.

Righteousness is man’s natural state; sinfulness, in contrast, is considered unnatural. Therefore, a wicked person who repents is viewed as “returning” to his natural state.

It was already nearly a year, and I nearly despaired of ever seeing the money. I kept trying to recover it, calling him periodically.

The moment when all we can say is gevalt. All we can do is cry out. That’s what the shofar was on Rosh Hashanah and will be at the end of Yom Kippur: The sound of our tears... The sound of a heart breaking. No more excuses. No more rationalizations and justifications. Ribbono Shel Olam, forgive us.

Says Rav Elchanan, we see that even without the middas harachamim when one regrets his previous actions, even his mitzvos, he will not be held accountable for them.

There is a feeling of awe and trepidation. The beginning of the year isn’t just the numerical marker of the New Year. It's not just a date and then the next day everything goes back to normal.

Because of his strong kesher to my husband, he and his family had opted to join our shul for Rosh Hashanah. So, serendipitously, he was available – not to mention ready, willing, and able – to don all the hats that had suddenly been vacated.

Some Jews have a custom to greet others on the first night of Rosh Hashanah with the words “Le’shanah tova tei’katev ve’tei’chatem le’alter le’chaim tovim u’le’shalom.

Why don’t we find the teshuvah process to be a part of the Rosh Hashanah davening, as we do on Yom Kippur?

When you cannot see Him, it is because you are looking in the wrong direction. When He seems absent, He is there just behind you, but you have to turn to meet Him. Do not treat Him like a stranger. He loves you. He believes in you.

Hashem set the world in motion and is in charge of this world, at all times. We know this as a fact, but we do not necessarily feel this protection when something goes wrong in our day.

When she proffered a 20-shekel note to the bus driver, she couldn’t fathom why he wouldn’t accept it.

I then handed her the Shabbos candles and she froze right there. She said, “Now I will light. Thank you very much,” and then proceeded to kiss my wife on both cheeks .

“Selichah” also refers to a type of liturgical poem, or piyut, characterized by begging for forgiveness.

A large part of what Moshe is doing in the book of Devarim is retelling that story to the next generation, reminding them of what G-d had done for their parents and of some of the mistakes their parents had made. Moshe, as well as being the great liberator, is the supreme storyteller. Yet what he does in this week's parsha, Ki Tavo, extends way beyond this.

Hashem, our father, is so merciful and He listens to us at all times. No matter how often we fall, He is always there when we want to get up and try again.

Wanting to help with the maintenance of the building, Chava agreed to be in charge of collecting funds once a year for the upkeep of the roof.

Rabbi Hirsch writes that “shachach” implies forgetting as a result of focusing on something else while “nashah” is forgetfulness that results from a weakened memory.

Most of us were not around before the last World War began, but from what we know it shared many shocking similarities with the events occurring right now.

Animals are part of G-d’s creation. They have their own integrity in the scheme of things. This would not have been news to the heroes of the Bible.

With our children, whom we care for and do everything we can for from the time they are born, we tend to think that we control them.

My children in Cleveland set out to invite the P. family for Shabbos and, after a few weeks of scheduling conflicts, they finally enjoyed a Shabbos together and got to know these new cousins.