The Parsha Experiment – Nitzavim: How To Make Sense Of The Terrible Curses II
To understand God's curses at the end of the Torah, we have to follow a trail all the way back, to Creation, and the Garden of Eden
Air Conditioner Running
The Bergs spent Rosh Hashanah in the apartment and then went on to their relatives.
Daf Yomi
The ‘False’ Rumor
‘If One Found Notes of Acquisition’
(Bava Metzia 14a)
Q & A: Elul – A Time To Repent (Conclusion)
Question: Where does the name Elul come from? Also, how can Elul be both the last month of the year and the prequel to the holidays (Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur) that occur in the following month, Tishrei, the first month of the new year? Finally, can you please discuss the religious practices of Elul?
M. Goldman
Miami Beach, FL
Festive Or Somber?
Looking from mother to father I would wonder: Is Rosh Hashanah a happy day or a sad day?
Seeing The Judgment
There is a period of fact finding, a period of deliberation, and then the decision is read for all to hear. At that point, the judge, the jury, the defendant, and all in attendance know the ruling.
A Favorable Judgment
Why is it necessary for one to perform teshuvah over the performance of any other mitzvah?
Just One Tekiah!
Blowing 30 times (the minimum amount to fulfill the mitzvah) for every Jewish patient, literally took the wind out of me.
The Best Songwriter
G-d willing more people will realize that prayer is a powerful spiritual drug.
Parshas Ki Savo: ‘How And Where’
Each mitzvah and each holiday is a guide and a map
Two Days Rosh Hashanah, Eruvin, And Eggs
From this decree on, the two days of Rosh Hashanah – unlike the two days of Pesach, Shavuot, and Sukkot – were no longer celebrated out of doubt but out of certainty.
Q & A: Elul – A Time To Repent (Part III)
Question: Where does the name Elul come from? Also, how can Elul be both the last month of the year and the prequel to the holidays (Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur) that occur in the following month, Tishrei, the first month of the new year? Finally, can you please discuss the religious practices of Elul?
M. Goldman
Miami Beach, FL
Daf Yomi
His Silence Is Deafening
‘One Seized It In Our Presence’
(Bava Metzia 6a)
Treif Toaster
Tosfos writes [Gittin 47a; Pesachim 57a] that hefker (disowning) rooted in error is not hefker, just as a gift or transaction rooted in error is not valid [C.M. 246:1-3].
Sharing The Fruit
The visitor does not hand over his basket of First Fruits; he first shares it with the Temple representative. This is not a ceremony of give and take but of sharing.
Using Visualizations
Studies show that not only do athletes who use them improve, but so do many other people whose activities require peak performance.
The Bikurim Passage
It seems from the Vilna Gaon and the Ra’avan that shomei’a k’oneh would not work for reciting the parshah of bikurim. But why not?
The Mourning Dove Lesson Of Emunah
Leah and Benyamin were both so used to being independent that Leah did not consider asking anyone for help.
A Himmel Geshrai
As Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur approach and we appeal to Hashem for a blessed New Year, we also prepare for the awesome moment when we will all stand before Almighty G-d.
The Parsha Experiment – Ki Tavo: How To Make Sense Of The Terrible Curses
Ki Tavo is so difficult to read; how could Hashem be so cruel to us? Join us as we grapple with the incredibly difficult curses of this week's parsha
We Are What We Remember
We are what we remember, and the first-fruits declaration was a way of ensuring that Jews would never forget.
Redeeming Relevance: Parshat Ki Tavo: Amalek, Bikkurim and Ma’aser
Many commentators sense a significance to the placement of the bikkurim declaration, at the beginning of this week’s pasha, right after the injunction to destroy Amalek. What is the connection?
G-d’s Anger Never Lasts
Just as Noach established and created a certain merit for himself when being saved, so too Bnei Yisrael need to do the same in order to be redeemed.
How Will You Pray?
Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur are almost here. How will you pray? How will you reunite with your Heavenly Father? Will your visit with Him have meaning, or will it be a meaningless empty ritual?
Outcomes And Intentions
So if on the previous Rosh Hashanah, Shimon had a decree of a year of life, then there is nothing Reuven or any other force in existence could do to change that.
Q & A: Elul – A Time To Repent (Part II)
Question: Where does the name Elul come from? Also, how can Elul be both the last month of the year and the prequel to the holidays (Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur) that occur in the following month, Tishrei, the first month of the new year? Finally, can you please discuss the religious practices of Elul?
M. Goldman
Miami Beach, FL
No Accident
I said that we could call the baby Natanel Yisrael, but my husband felt that the name would be too long. (I don’t know why he said that because we already had a child with a six-syllable name.)