On Friday, May 16, Jews around the world will celebrate Lag Ba’omer. Lag Ba’omer is a joyous day. In Israel, thousands flock to Miron, the burial site of Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai, the second-century Talmudic sage who passed away on this day.
Rabbi Shimon was the first to publicize and record …
Vaytze : The Night is for Jacob
Our patriarchs, Avraham, Yitzchak and Yaakov established a rite of prayer that is followed to this very day. Avraham coined the morning service, Yitzchak the afternoon service and Yaakov the evening service. (1)
In prayer we draw divine energy into our environment and ourselves. Every day progresses through three stages, …
15th Nov 2004 : Shaloh House Synagogue, Stoughton, MA
Shaloh House Synagogue
50 Ethyl Way, # 781
Stoughton, MA 02072-1211
(781) 344-6334
From Sinai to Modern Day – Lecture
Tracing Maimonides to the development of the Oral Tradition
November 15th found Shaloh House Chabad of the South Area with a room
set up for another exciting lecture. With about 30 people in
attendance, Rabbi Lazar Gurkow, …
Shavuot the Festival of Weeks
Sunday, May 27, marks the beginning of Shavuot, the Jewish festival of weeks. Its name reflects the seven-week period that commences on the second night of Passover and concludes on the first night of this festival. During this time the Jewish ancestry journeyed from Egypt to Sinai and prepared to …
Bikur Cholim
A fantastic story is told about the Chassidic master Rabbi Moshe of Korbin. Once, on his travels, he stayed at the home of one of his disciples. His host’s grandson, then a baby, had fallen gravely ill. Doctors had given up all hope and did not expect the child to …
Rosh Hashanah: The Child’s Cry
The story is told of a great rabbi who was up late at night deeply engrossed in Torah study together with his study partner. At that moment one of his partner’s children was awakened by a nightmare and began to cry. The rabbi, his concentration disturbed, arose from his studies …
Rabba’s Astonishing Purim
The Party
The Talmud relates a Purim story that at first glance seems astonishing. The great sage Rabba invited his contemporary Reb Zeira for the Purim Feast. During the course of dinner, intoxicated by wine, Rabba rose and slaughtered Reb Zeira. In the morning, Rabba prayed for a miracle and Reb …
Shofar and Rosh Hashanah
Wake Up Call
The Shofar is our wake up call, it reminds us to turn to G-d. Throughout the long year Jews are caught in the stream of life, pressures and worldly considerations take their toll. We stray from the proper path leaning to the material rather then the spiritual, tending …
Law of Return
Many have wondered about Israel’s “Law Of Return”, a policy that grants all Jews, regardless of background or citizenship, the right to instant Israeli absorption and citizenship. This law has been roundly criticized as a policy of racism.The condemnation sounds rational and acceptable to those uninformed of Jewish nuance and …
Parsha Insights »
Vayeshev: Dare to Dream
Dream on, is an expression we use when someone shares a hope that seems fantastical. To dare to dream is to have the courage to think beyond the box; to push the envelope. Plans that people dismiss as impossible, are the stuff of dreams. Martin Luther King Jr. gave a …
Yearly Cycle »
Tetzaveh : The Sounds of Silence
The Meaning of Sound
What does sound mean to you? Sound plays many roles. It is a vehicle for communication, music, and even distraction, but at its root sound is the simple indicator of life.
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Concepts »
Heal Your Fractured Self
We all have two dimensions: the inner wholesome, beautiful self that is a fount of integrity, honesty, determination, and love. Then we have the outer fractured self that is filled with cravings, greed, lust, flightiness, envy, unhealthy competitiveness, bias, anger, resentment, insecurity, etc. The goal is not only to transition …
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 …
