OU Staff

Rosh Hashana is Not Groundhog’s Day

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I have two unique talents. I can close my eyes and fall asleep within 10 seconds, and once asleep, I can sleep through a tornado. These abilities are heaven-sent. Because of my busy schedule, I sleep very little at night. I am able to keep going by sleeping on the train to and from work. [...]

Hint for a King

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Here in the Old City of Jerusalem and probably in your own neighborhood, classes for the coming holidays are popping up everywhere. As the intensity of Elul is building, the talk of the town is tshuva, repentance. We Jews spend an entire month working on ourselves, fixing bad habits and making amends with those whom [...]

A Rewarding World

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Our parsha commences with a reward and punishment classic; first, the reward: In the future, as a consequence of your heeding these laws, and your guarding and fulfilling them; Ad-noy, your G-d, will guard for you the covenant and the kindliness that He swore to your forefathers. He will love you, and bless you, and [...]

Seeking Refuge

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By the Jews, justice happens quickly. For example, on the rare occasion when a capital punishment is invoked, the gap between decision and implementation is less than 36 hours, nor do lashes and general payment/repayment obligation extend for a long period of time. Apparently, death row, protracted justice and seething jails teeming with unrepentant convicts [...]