We are in the midst of the Ten days of Teshuva. Holy, awesome, and exceptionally elevated days. Days when our sages tell us that Hashem is particularly close. “Seek Hashem when He is to found, call to Him when He is close” But what does this actually mean? This closeness. What is it? Close. Deep. […]
Rosh HaShanah is the first of the Ten Days of Teshuva. On Rosh Hashanah we don’t think about the past, we only look to the future. Teshuva Begins in the Future Rosh Hashanah is the creation of the world. Every year, on this day, the world is completely renewed. Like we say in our prayers, […]
Every feeling heart, every believing Jew, is pained over the Churban, the destruction of the Beit HaMikdash. Yet the truth is, sometimes it’s hard; hard to imagine a Beit HaMikdash centered world, shard to truly feel that pain, hard to pray from the depths of our hearts. Of Pain and Dream And so we need […]
The Three Weeks, bein ha’metzarim, are naturally associated with tragedy and mourning. Yet, at the same time, our sages tell us that in the future this will be a time of great simcha. Is it a coincidence that these days of mourning will become days of joy? Today’s Mourning and Tomorrow’s Joy It’s true, these […]
A generation will arise and live … Hundreds of thousands of people. Countless buses. It’s Lag B’omer. And seemingly endless throngs of every kind of Jew in the world make their way to Meron. Why? The Soul of Torah P’nimiut haTorah, the inner dimension of Torah, is, as it’s name implies, the soul of the […]
For the Sake of Jerusalem … These are remarkable days. These days between Pesach and Shavuot, these days between Yom Hazikaron and Yom Yerusholayim. What more appropriate time than with Parshat Emor—“say to the Kohanim’—and at the beginning of the month of Iyar, to focus and stir our hearts with a deeper appreciation for geula […]
…as if he personally left Egypt. “’In each and every generation a person must see himself as if he personally left Egypt.’ As it says ‘And you shall tell your child on that day, saying, ‘For the sake of this God did for me when he took me out of Egypt.’ It wasn’t just our […]
The mitzvoth of the seder night are varied, but the inner meaning and message is one: Freedom. From Bondage to Freedom The essence of the seder is about the journey from slavery to freedom. It was on that history-altering night that God bathed us in His great light, a light that forever lifted us to a […]
Regarding the month of Nisan the Torah says: “Guard the month of springtime, and carry out the Passover offering for Hashem, your God; for in the month of the springtime Hashem, your God, took you out of Egypt at night.” This is the only time when the Torah links a month with a season. Why […]
As Adar Begins … One of the most beloved of all our halachot is, “When Adar arrives, we increase simcha, joy.” Without a doubt, there is a unique quality to the joy of Adar, and many feel the simcha of Purim has a special, vibrant character all its own. What is this special Purim simcha? […]