Word Prompt – USHPIZIN – Ana Mandelbaum
When we open our homes, we create an atmosphere that elevates not just the meal but the entire spiritual experience.
Word Prompt – CROWN – Ziona Greenwald
Leaders should be reminded of their privilege and literally feel the weight of their responsibility, whether it entails actual power or (only) a mandate to exemplify grace and dedication to public service.
Word Prompt – SINAI – Tamir Goodman
It’s the perfect time to remember that Hashem entrusted each of us with a special mission in this world.
Word Prompt – LECHEM – Maayan Zik
Lechem with the Hebrew letters lamed-chet-mem means bread, but can also be a stand in for abundance, livelihood, and sustenance.
Word Prompt – THREE STOOGES – Cheryl Kupfer
Moe would show his displeasure with his cohorts by slapping their faces, or poking their eyes out. It might have been fake, but we kids didn’t know that.
Word Prompt – FLOWERS – Alex Fleksher
With tulips, it’s all downhill. They shoot up awkwardly after being under the blaze of your dining room table lights for 24 hours and soon lose their color, shape, and glory. They begin to die.
Word Prompt – BAIS YAAKOV – Bari Mitzmann
Bais Yaakov is not a school. It is the term Moshe uses when speaking to the Jewish women. We as Jewish women are a unit. When we realize that, we are a force to be reckoned with.
Word Prompt – BONFIRE – Avi Ganz
Before allowing something to expand, it would be advisable to make sure it has the space in which to expand. Without that space, the results can be disastrous.
Word Prompt – SHEVATIM – Keshet Starr
In many ways, the twelve tribes are a beautiful symbol of Jewish unity; twelve different groups within a larger nation, each contributing in their own way.
Word Prompt – SONS – Sara Blau
Loving our children equally does not mean treating them identically. Each soul carries its own nature, its own calling. To raise them well is to know them deeply – to nurture their individual strengths and guide them along their unique paths.
Word Prompt – IDF – Pesha Kletenik
This sacrifice reminds me of our brave IDF members, who have had to give up so much time with their families in order to carry out the holy work of defending the State of Israel.
Word Prompt – AISH – Michael Milgraum
We must remember that an uncontrolled fire is destructive and terrifying, but a controlled one is a tremendous object of beauty.
Word Prompt – RISHON – Yonatan Milevsky
It is not surprising therefore that the only word we have to associate with this concept, rishon, comes from the most basic human feature, the head, a connection made by the 12th-13th century figure, Rabbi David Kimhi.
Word Prompt – AISH – Ziona Greenwald
There are many parallels between fire and water, most notably their coequal destructive potential and indispensability to human life.
Word Prompt – BEIS DIN – Gershon Schusterman
The salient distinction is that civil law is secular and Jewish law is G-dly... Jewish law, by contrast, is a combination of civil and religious law, e.g., if one steals, he is simultaneously sinning against the victim and against G-d.
Word Prompt – BEIS HILLEL – Elli Fischer
Nobody ever wants to be associated with Beis Shammai. Have you ever been to a college campus with a Shammai House? Has a rabbi, or group of rabbis, ever compared their approach to that of Beis Shammai?
Word Prompt – DEGEL – Simcha Eichenstein
As a member of the New York State Assembly, representing my district and my community, I often feel that I am waving an invisible degel. The manner in which I present myself, the things I say, the culture and traditions I honor, even the clothing I choose – these are all my degel.
Word Prompt – MIRIAM – Shani Taragin
Miriam – a woman of water and wellness, in whose merit a miraculous well provided Bnei Yisrael with water in the wilderness for forty years, sustained the fledgling nation physically and spiritually.
Word Prompt – BRURIAH – Sarah Pachter
Today, with the news out of Israel shocking and saddening us constantly, as parents we often find ourselves needing to shield our children from the anxiety we are feeling. It is hard, but it’s a must, and we can draw strength from Bruriah’s choice.
Word Prompt – AISH – Yehudah Pryce
In our generation, we are witnessing the revealed yad Hashem – victories against all odds, survival amidst growing hate, and moral clarity in chaos. We are witnessing aish min haShamayim.
Word Prompt – RUACH – Rabbi Elli Fischer
Even the other Hebrew words for soul or spirit – like nefesh and neshamah – are related to the words for breathing.
Word Prompt – RABBI AKIVA – Avi Ganz
After the plague that wiped out his myriad students, Rabbi Akiva could have faced the harsh reality that they weren't worthy.
Word Prompt – CHACHMA – Ariel Rackovsky
Usually, the mind is viewed as the seat of the intellect, of chachma, and emotions are associated with the heart. A term like chacham lev sounds like a paradox, but of course, it isn't one.
Word Prompt – POLAND – Allison Josephs
We need to take these awful suggestions and use them to create enough fire in our bellies in order for us to do the exact opposite.
Word Prompt – MAPS – Pesha Kletenik
My first instinct was to tell her to move away from the 150-year-old, fading velvet cover, but instead, I enjoyed the sight of a giggling, Jewish child playing behind an artifact that miraculously was drawn from the fires of Kristallnacht.