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Parsha Insights »
Shmini : Foundation of the Law
Inauguration
It was a festive day. After months of preparation and seven days of training the priestly family was anointed. They donned the sacred vestments and inaugurated the sacrificial rite. Aaron, the High Priest, climbed to the top of the altar and offered up a sacrifice whereupon G-d’s presence descended upon …
Yearly Cycle »
Rosh Hashanah: Making A Tzimmes of Tzimmes
Head or Hair?
Rosh Hashanah is not just the first day of the year, it is the head of the year. A head serves two purposes: It is a platform for hair, as in a beautiful head of hair, and a housing apparatus for the brain.
The head is the seat of …
Concepts »
The Leap of Trust
We usually talk about a leap of faith. Today, I want to discuss a much harder concept: a leap of trust.
The name of the Parshah we read this week is Chukat. There are three types of commandments: (A) Mishpatim, commandments that make sense to us. We would likely have drawn …
Rabbi’s Desk »
What Can We Do?
These past two days have been the most difficult for our people in the last fifty years. It was Simchat Torah, a time for rejoicing, yet it was a time of horror. Nearly a thousand members of our family were brutally murdered, more than a hundred were taken hostage, and …