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This is what Haman has become. His name heralds a raucous time of celebration for the Jews, gathered together on the cusp of a day we spend joyously.

What is this seemingly illogical hatred that our enemies appear to be possessed by, their anger akin to idol worship?

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You know, it seems they’re [the protesters] are upset that I played for the IDF soldiers, which is straight up antisemitic and racist, Matisyahu said. We’re not allowed to have our own army? That’s what their problem is. They don’t know anything about me, who I am, or my fans.

You are a liar! was followed by more epithets and expletives that I would prefer not to put into print. This was coming from my beloved husband who treated me with respect and kid gloves for over forty years.

Thousands of people crammed shoulder-to-shoulder, to imbibe the simcha and emunah laden in this historic affirmation of our covenant with Hashem. Not every day is there an opportunity to join a simcha the likes of which may not have happened since the days of Avraham Avinu.

There is no denying that the current barrage of M16 bullets ricocheting across the battlefield and the heavy bomb smoke billowing over Israel and the Gazan sky are making it hard to see very far, clouding the vision of both our physical eyes and our mind’s eye. Nevertheless, if one looks really hard, one cannot help noticing the tremendous spiritual, cultural, and sociological potential waiting on the horizon.

What would they do to the Nazi's they found working in a pharmacy? I don't know. I was supposed to report to them. The whole country was Nazis, what were they going to do with them all?

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The protest was not publicized on social media, so no pro-Palestinian protestors showed up.

The fragment I sold was from the commentary of the Ralbag, Levi ben Gershon's (1288-1344) commentary on the book of Iyov, with handwritten annotations and additions in the Ralbag's own handwriting!

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The religion of the von Trapp family is the subject of some discussion among critics, with some claiming that they were Jewish.

It was the Lubavitcher Rebbe, zt”l, who pointed out one of the paradoxes of Havdalah: that its ultimate function is to join and unite the very things it comes to differentiate.

For those of us outside of Israel, there is the added discomfort of feeling separated from the epicenter of our people. We feel the longing for our other half and the guilt of feeling absent as the next chapter of our history is being written by those on the ground.

Failing to distinguish between categories leads to a blurring of values, such as the Harvard professor who wrote a whole book about how animals are just as important as people or the Spanish philosopher who posits that plants have feelings, too.

The separation was never total, and our religious freedoms are a freedom to not a freedom from.

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We constantly ask Hubby to tell us when he wants to rise up from the sofa or a chair, so that we can assist him. We remind him because we are programmed to do so. That is what normal people say to others, it is reasonable. What is not easy for caregivers to absorb, is that the person in their care will not be able to process the message.

We waited another few days. Then came this order that all the slave laborers have to come to the camp. If somebody would be caught outside, he'd be put in – whatever they were threatening us with. So we did.

While nearly every correspondence of the Rayatz was collected and published for posterity in his Igrois Kodesh, this letter appears to be unpublished and the discussion within lost until now.

After the chag, when the horrors became known, they said, Shai, just go do whatever you have to do. Shiva homes, supporting orphans, injured soldiers – whatever it is, we’ll support it.

My Mother, a”h, passed away last August. That meant I needed to find many minyanim along the way. I figured if there were ever a place to do it, it was Israel. What follows are the highlights of my adventures in minyanim.

As a child, Bertram knew little about his father’s service to his country other than the fact that he had been a “radio man.” When pressed to reveal more, such as whether he had ever killed anyone during the war, his father would respond by rolling his eyes, which taught young Bertram not to ask too many questions.

Havdalah and Kiddush are therefore flip sides of the same coin; the essence of Kiddush is to distinguish between the mundane (weekdays) and the holy (Shabbat), and the essence of havdalah is to differentiate between Shabbat and weekdays.

We’re at a point where very few Holocaust survivors are left to speak up, she said, describing the extraordinary rise in Holocaust denialism. The flaws in secondary education explain why colleges are fertile ground for a surge in antisemitism, continued Finkelstein.

Hearing the word can also conjure a sizeable shul we may remember from childhood or the comfort we feel when we slide into our seat on Shabbos morning.

One definition of sanctuary is a holy space. One way to create a holy space involves defining boundaries as indicated by the above passage from Shemot. Another definition of sanctuary is a place of refuge and safety.

What if we approached our fellow person in distress with the same amount of thought and consideration? What if we took time to think about the recommended guidelines instead of just saying or doing what popped into our minds?

While on the subject, there is one other sanctuary that we are indeed all familiar with, although we never refer to it with this term. And that is the chuppah.