This week’s Torah portion speaks of the mysterious lesions that appeared on the skin of those who trafficked in gossip. Their punishment was at once severe and precise: they were cast into isolation for up to three weeks, until their affliction healed.
The Torah enumerates many forms of ritual impurity. Some …
An Echo
This week’s Parsha recounts the Ten Commandments. The Torah tells us that the commandments were delivered in “a powerful voice that was never repeated.” Our sages explain that this voice did not have an echo. Why is the absence of an echo important?
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The Name
The Jewish festivals celebrate the miracles of our history. The festival of Passover celebrates the exodus. Shavuot, celebrates the giving of the Ten Commandments. Sukkot, celebrates the miracles that our ancestors experienced during their journey through the desert.
The festivals are named according to the miracles that they commemorate. The …
I wanted to write a Rosh Hashanah greeting and was casting about for a new spin, something that would make this year’s greeting stand out, when I realized that it’s not the greeting that should stand out, but the year.
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Praying For Others
“Rabbi, I hope you can help my poor neighbor. He is six months behind his rent and is about to evicted along with his wife and three babies.” “This man must be a good friend of yours,” the Rabbi replied, “of course we will help.”“Friend,” exclaimed the petitioner, …
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 …
