Sukkos: Spiraling Through the Symphony of Life
The same is true for all spiritual circles. The ideal is not to transcend the circular system, but to uplift it, to transform the circle into a spiral, to find innovative ways of creating newness within the circular system, not beyond it.
From Suez to Afghanistan: A Sukkot message
As we approach the winter, God wants us to be aware just how temporary our livelihood and security really are, or can become.
Yom Kippur – An Out-Of-Body Experience
For that one day we step out of ourselves and have an “out-of-body experience.” We are no longer part of this world as we know it.
Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement) Guide for the Perplexed, 2021
Yom Kippur is considered to be a Super Sabbath (Shabbat Shabbaton in Hebrew) – a soul-searching opportunity for pious and evil people alike.
Yom Kippur: Flying Amongst Angels
Our goal as humans is not to escape the physical, but to use it as a means of connecting to the transcendent.
Lulav & Children
Although one might think that the solution to this problem is to allow one’s child to recite the blessing on one’s lulav with the explicit condition that the child does not acquire the lulav, this is incorrect.
Redeeming Relevance: Forgiving Made Easy
Almost always, the reason we are not willing to forgive offenses against us has almost nothing to do with the offense, and everything to do with it being done to us. Once we can internalize this, we can move to a God’s-eye perspective and forgive others more easily.
Torah: The Song Of Klal Yisrael
The Torah is a song? Torah certainly doesn’t feel like a song. We think of songs as relaxing, easy, accessible. Torah can certainly be that, but Torah is also so much more.
Rosh Hashanah (New Year) Guide for the Perplexed, 2021
Wishing you a healthy, challenging and rewarding year
At the Doorstep of Shemita 5782: Signs of the Redemption – the Footsteps...
May this Shemita year hasten the coming of the Mashiach.; Shana Tova U’Mevurechet
Preparing For Rosh Hashana: The Art Of Listening
The act of listening is a two-way street. There is the speaker – trying to communicate an emotion or problem – and the listener. What is the role of the listener?
Rosh Hashana: The Three Stages of Teshuva
Elul and Rosh Hashanah center around the concept of teshuva, and Parshas Nitzavim is clearly linked to this theme as well. The pesukim in Nitzavim discuss the theme of teshuva, the importance of choosing life - choosing what is right, and connecting ourselves back to Hashem. As Parshas Nitzavim is connected to the transition from Elul into Rosh Hashanah, let us delve into the idea of teshuva.
As Good As It Gets?
"The more you draw yourself to G-d, the more you must realize how far you are from Him. When a person believes that he has succeeded in achieving closeness to G-d and understanding of Him, it is a sign that he does not know anything at all." (Likutey Moharan I, 63)
Never To Early To Say ‘I’m Sorry’
Sometimes “tomorrow” never comes. Sometimes it is too late, but it is never “too soon,” never too early to own up to one’s failings and errors.
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.
The Debased Origins of Baseless Hate
The elites – the Kohanim in the Beit HaMikdash and too many others – in their zealous self-righteousness, religious coercion, and insensitivity to the way they were being perceived by others, contributed to a terrible culture of animosity and hatred.
Nine Ideas For The Nine Days
No laundries, no showers, no swimming, and no pastrami sandwiches. It seems like the big expression during the Nine Days is: "Just say no!" Please allow me, therefore, to change things up a bit. Here is a list of things you can say "yes" to during this period.
17th of Tammuz
17th of Tammuz: Beginning 3 weeks of mourning for the destruction of the Holy Temple in Jerusalem.
Suggestions for the 17th of Tammuz
Suggestion: Along with not eating and drinking let us "fast" today from other indulgences...
Ari Fuld on Shavuot: On the Indigenous People of Israel and Why There is...
Ari talks about the holidays of Shavuot and Yom Kippur, the Shofar that connects the two holidays, and the indigenous people of the Land of Israel.
What Do You Plan to Learn on Shavuos Night?
I’m planning to learn and teach the commentary of the Alshich HaKadosh to Megillas Rus. — Rabbi YY Rubinstein, noted author and lecturer
What’s the Secret to Making a Good Cheesecake?
To be honest, I have never met a cheesecake I didn’t like, but over the last few years, I have replaced the vanilla in my cheesecake with bourbon, with fantastic results. It’s a subtle change, but a good one! — Sandy Eller, Monsey, NY
What is Lag BaOmer?
Lag BaOmer marks the date of Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai's death. So why is it such a celebration?
73 Bible Verses in Honor of Israel’s 73rd Birthday
Nearly every page of the Torah bursts with passionate descriptions about the beauty of the land.
First Ever Book About the Jewish Festivals for Emerging Jewish Communities Released in Time...
The author of the book Ronit Treatman, the daughter of Israeli diplomats who speaks several languages and lives in Philadelphia, was inspired to write the book after she became involved with the Bnei Anousim, the tens of millions of people around the world descended from forcibly converted Spanish and Portuguese Jews through the organization Reconectar.
The Bitter and the Sweet
The fact that we can taste something as bitter is an affirmation of how sweet our lives generally are.
Should One Eat Seudah Shlishit This Erev Pesach?
Rabbeinu Tam has an ingenious solution for how to have Seudah Shlishit on Erev Pesach: eat matzah ashirah [egg matzah].
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