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Shira Smiles

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Mrs. Shira Smiles is a highly sought-after international lecturer, a popular seminary teacher, and an experienced curriculum developer. She is well-known for her unique teaching style, which seeks to bring understanding of Torah texts through analysis of relevant sources, while making the lessons learned from every verse relevant to her students' lives. Mrs. Smiles teaches at Darchei Bina Seminary. In addition, she leads a number of women's study group classes in Beit Shemesh, Yerushalayim, and Modiin. Mrs. Smiles also trains Torah teachers in special workshops all over the world. Mrs. Smiles gives a weekly shiur that is broadcast around the world via satellite hookup, has a direct teleconference shiur with students in LA, and has over 300 audio shiurim. Her first book is called Torah Tapestries. Photo courtesy Daryl Tempkin Photography

Kindness and Kingship

May 19, 2023, by

 Shiur provided courtesy of Naaleh.com Adapted by Channie Koplowitz Stein It is well known that the megillah we read on Shavuot is Ruth. Why? Because just as the Torah, which we received on Shavuot, is based on chesed/loving kindness, so too does Megillat Ruth focus on chesed. Further, since Ruth is the ancestress of Dovid Hamelech who […]

Special Sandwich

March 23, 2023, by

 Shiur provided courtesy of Naaleh.com Adapted by Channie Koplowitz Stein Two thirds of the way through the ritual steps in the order of the Pesach Seder, after eating the matzoh separately and the bitter herbs separately, we come across korech, the sandwich of the matzoh and bitter herbs eaten together. This we eat before beginning the festive […]

Multifarious Manifestations of Miracle

December 16, 2022, by

 Shiur provided courtesy of Naaleh.com Adapted by Channie Koplowitz Stein Generally, when Hashem performs miracles for us, we are in dire straits, when there is no other way to overcome an imminent danger or find an alternative solution short of Hashem’s intervention. Yet, as Rabbi Bernstein points out in Illuminating the Night, there were two halachically acceptable […]

Sacred Speech

September 30, 2022, by

Download PDF  Shiur provided courtesy of Naaleh.com Adapted by Channie Koplowitz Stein One of the central parts of the Yom Kippur liturgy is the viduy, the serialized recitation and confession of the sins we committed in the previous year. Each of these transgressions acts more as a heading that incorporates many aspects included in that heading. It […]

Incredible Illumination

September 19, 2022, by

 Shiur provided courtesy of Naaleh.com Adapted by Channie Koplowitz Stein From the beginning of Elul until Hoshanah Rabba we add Psalm 27 to our daily prayers: “Ledovid Hashem ohri v’yishi…/By David, Hashem is my light and my salvation.” Our medrash teaches that ohri/my light refers to Rosh Hashanah while yishi/my salvation refers to Yom Kippur. In other words, […]

Final Fire

July 21, 2022, by

 Shiur provided courtesy of Naaleh.com Download PDF Adapted by Channie Koplowitz Stein As we begin mourning the destruction of Yerushalayim and the Beit Hamikdosh, we also hope for and anticipate our return from exile and serving Hashem in the rebuilt, permanent, third Beit Hamikdosh. How will that third Beit Hamikdosh be built? According to the Gemarrah, […]

Goat’s Goading

April 1, 2022, by

Download sources  Shiur provided courtesy of Naaleh.com Adapted by Channie Koplowitz Stein The formal reading of the Haggadah ends with drinking the fourth cup and declaring, “Next Year in Yerushalayim.” However, many have the custom to continue the Seder with the singing of liturgical songs, concluding with Chad Gadya/One Kid that father bought for two zuzim. While […]

Longitudinal Lens

March 25, 2022, by

Download sources  Shiur provided courtesy of Naaleh.com Adapted by Channie Koplowitz Stein When both the beginning and the end of a work refer to the same idea, we can be assured that this will be a recurring theme throughout the work being studied or performed. The example most often cited is that the Torah itself begins […]