Rabbi Eliyahu Safran

Rabbi Eliyahu Safran
shavuot

Shavuot: To Teach, To Learn, To Repent

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There is an urgency in the two Torah commandments whose obligation is constant and ever-present, to learn Torah and to repent.  The Torah is clear about this urgency in the Sh’ma:  “These words, which I command you this day, make them as a sign upon your heart and between your eyes…” Our Sages comment that [...]

thanks

Hakarat Hatov

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 “If the only prayer you said was thank you, that would be enough.” – Meister Eckhart  Last year, not long before Passover was to begin and my thoughts were already on the coming Seders and great drama we would be observing, I happened to be just outside a building when I observed the following small [...]

goat

Chad Gadyah

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As the Seder night ebbs away, long after the Four Questions have been asked and answered, after the festive meal has been eaten and the post-feast drowsiness descends; after the evening’s mitzvot have been observed and the fourth cup of wine emptied, we raise our voices in a curious, delightful, seemingly whimsical song at the [...]

ignorance

When Ignorance is Bliss

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We Jews have been accused of many things over the centuries but not valuing knowledge, and not striving to distinguish between good and evil have not been amongst them.  The rabbis devoted a great deal of their energy and thought to highlight the contrasts in life, specifically between right and wrong, good and evil.  Our [...]

who_knows

Ehad Mi Yodeah: I Know Thirteen

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We take so much for granted, even on Seder night. Even as we celebrate the how’s and why’s of our redemption from Egypt too often we leave unanswered the most important question, Why? Why the redemption? That there were miracles, signs, wonders and plagues we accept without question. It is the why that remains unasked. [...]