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 …
“Will your brothers go to war while you sit here?”
After our ancestors conquered the lands on the East bank of the Jordan River, the tribes of Rueben, Gad, and half of Manasseh, asked for permission to settle there. The wide-open grasslands were perfect for pasture and these tribes were shepherds. …
Names are instructive, they tell us a lot about the things that they describe. When Jewish custom and history settles on a name for a Torah portion, the name bears a connection to the general theme of the portion. The name of this portion is Bo, which means to enter. …
Sanctity and Joy
When a Jewish festival falls on Friday, it merges directly into Shabbat. This gives us pause as we reflect on the differences between the festival and Shabbat.
Tweet
When Soul Trumps Sport
The world media loved it. The LA Times ran a headline “Runners Abbey D’Agostino, Nikki Hamblin are the real winners in Rio.” Indeed, they are the real winners. They really did win gold.
Here is how it happened.
Long distance runner Abbey D’Agostino, of Topsfield, Mass., collided with Nikki …
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 …
