Judaism

Parshat Ha’azinu – The Song of History

Am Segula Rav Yehuda Hakohen

Human history – like any great piece of literature – presents a story that is not only inspiring and dramatic on the surface but also allegorically rich with hidden meaning and deep moral lessons.

The Spirituality Of Song

In Print Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks z"l

As music connects note to note, so faith connects episode to episode, life to life, age to age in a timeless melody that breaks into time.

More Than Just Kapparah

In Print Rabbi Reuven Taragin

Most of us are familiar with the process and stages of teshuva. But how do we purify ourselves?

Although it is difficult to imagine, it seems that Dovid HaMelech – the exalted individual, leader of the Jewish nation, fearless warrior of Hashem – was afraid that he had possibly accrued so many sins that he could no longer repent.

Taking Torah On The Road

In Print Rabbi Dr. Mordechai Schiffman

Whether nature is vanity or just lower on the values hierarchy than Torah study, both of these approaches seem to agree that nature disrupts the learning process, and presumably, if possible, learning should be done inside, with minimal distractions from the natural world.

The Messages And Power Of L’Dovid Hashem Ori (Part II)

In Print Rabbi Moshe Meir Weiss

Many of us, after making an honest and blunt cheshbon hanefesh, a personal reevaluation of our behavior during the past year, might be filled with despair and despondency at our chances for a good judgment.

Torah Study And General Wisdom

In Print Rabbi Yitzchak Sprung

All of this would be true even if it were not so that a general education is required for gaining an appreciation of G-d’s wisdom, philosophy, ethics, and laws.

Q & A: Prayer And Its Origins (Part III)

In Print Rabbi Yaakov Klass

Question: The Gemara in Berachot teaches that the Sages authored our prayers. If so, it would seem that we did not pray before this time. Did we pray before their innovation or not? Menachem Via Email

Biting The Hand That Feeds You

Parsha Raphael Grunfeld

The heavens have been programmed by G-d to supply rain. Instructing them not to do so is against their nature. It is only harsh and insistent words that will convince the heavens to go against their own nature.

Reading The Paper

In Print Rabbi Dani Staum

There is much good that we do with our cell phones, and they help us in so many ways. But how often do we take them out to look at them during davening in shul, during family meal times, or at any time when we are conversing with another person?

Let My Teachings Rain Down, My Sayings Soak In As The Dew

Parsha Avraham Levitt

Rav Kook examines the opening concepts of the parsha: The heavens should listen, the earth will hear, teachings fall like rain and sayings soak in as the dew. He explains that in our world, we find things in a pure state of nature and we also see them altered by the intervention of men.

Yom Kippur: Flying Amongst Angels

In Print Rabbi Shmuel Reichman

Arguably the most important concept in life, though often misunderstood, is the nature of the soul.

Kapparot – Venerated Custom Or Controversial Practice?

In Print Rabbi Ari Enkin

The long lines and rushed atmosphere typical of erev Yom Kippur Kapparot gatherings frequently lead to invalid slaughter and render the chickens, which are later distributed to the poor, as non-kosher.

Is It Proper To Wear Flip Flops To Shul On Yom Kippur?

In Print Jewish Press Staff

To be honest, even wearing running shoes which many of us, myself included, do on Yom Kippur often feels a bit strange to me.

Parshas Ha’azinu

In Print Rabbi Yaakov Klass

Fat And Kicking

In Print Eliezer Meir Saidel

Hashem wants us to visit Him every day, to have a loving daily connection with Him and to ask Him for what we need. A relationship that even when we have what we need, we continue to visit the palace.

Rosh Hashanah: The Sounds of Guidance

Holidays Rabbi Aba Wagensberg

Good Shabbos, Good Yom Tov, Kesiva Vichasima Tova

Encounters In The Second-Hand Store

In Print Adina Hershberg

Berta had no inkling about the journey she and Michael were going to take... For a year following the wedding, Berta’s mother kept bringing non-kosher food into their apartment; she had difficulty accepting the young couple’s choice to learn more about Judaism.