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 …
Pre Passover Preparation
Once again Passover is on the horizon and, in Jewish homes, the air is filled with excitement. If you are Jewish then your home is probably in a state of disarray with a cleaning crew hard at work. The smell of Windex, Lysol, Furniture Polish and Soap. The …
A Single Vote
I wanted to vote in the recent US elections, I really did. But once again life got in the way. I can’t tell you how many times I berated myself for not partaking in this great democratic privilege. Men and women died for to preserve it and all …
The Palm frond is the tallest and most visible of the four species that we waive during the festival of Sukkot. So much does the Palm frond stand out that it is perceived as the signature piece of the four species. When referring to the four species, one often describes …
The Reunion
Do you know the feeling of meeting up with your spouse after being apart for several days or even weeks? How about seeing your child come home from school for the first time in months or seeing family members that live halfway across the world? It is a giddy …
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 …
