Months and Years
Have you ever wondered why there are annual cycles in the lunar calendar and monthly cycles in the solar calendar? Think about it. The solar calendar is defined by the cycle of seasons as the earth tilts on its axis for three-hundred-and-sixty-five days; nothing in this calendar lends …
Israel seems to be a recurring problem for the Jewish people. Ever since Joshua conquered the land, nations have tried to wrest it from us. Our ancestors fought recurring battles against the Moabites, Midianites, Canaanites, Amalekites, Ammonites, and Philistines. Later came the Assyrians, Babylonians, Persians, Greeks, and finally, the Romans, …
Chametz and Matzah
On Passover we celebrate our ancestors’ exodus from Egypt. When our ancestors left Egypt they left in great haste. They didn’t have time to properly bake bread before they left and consequently ate unleavened bread for their first days of travel.In commemoration of this fact, the Torah commands …
A Mother’s Pain
A mother returned from her child’s funeral and approached the master. Through her tears, she begged him to tell her why her beloved child had had to die. The master asked her, “Do you really want to know?”
“Yes, of course I do” she replied.
“Are you sure?” asked the …
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 …
