Shiur provided courtesy of Naaleh.com Adapted by Channie Koplowitz Stein The Gemarrah recounts the origins of the Chanukah Festival. The menorah that the Maccabees lit with just enough oil for one day lasted for eight days. The following year the Sanhedrin established these eight days as a permanent festival of Hallel/praise and hoda’ah/thanksgiving. Rashi explains that […]

 Shiur provided courtesy of Naaleh.com Adapted by Channie Koplowitz Stein One of the sins we ask atonement for during the Viduy/Confession prayer of Yom Kippur is the sin of siach sifsoteinu/idle chatter of our lips. ArtScroll explains that our lips sin not only when we pray or study Torah without concentration, but very often when we are uncomfortable […]

 Shiur provided courtesy of Naaleh.com Adapted by Channie Koplowitz Stein Rosh Hashanah is mandated as a two day festival even in Israel. Yet, if we agree that the main purpose of Rosh Hashanah is to coronate Hashem as King over us and over all creation, haven’t we done that on Day One of Rosh Hashanah? What […]

 Shiur provided courtesy of Naaleh.com Adapted by Channie Koplowitz Stein In this season of awe, we often invoke the mantra, “Uteshuvah utefillah utzedaka ma’avirin et roa hagezaeirah/Repentance, prayer and charity can turn back a negative decree.” These three paths to a positive outcome are alluded to in three verses that each contain an acronym to this […]

 Shiur provided courtesy of Naaleh.com Adapted by Channie Koplowitz Stein The Torah tells us that when Bnei Yisroel accepted the Torah, they were encamped betachtic hahar/under the bottom of the mountain. The common translation of “at the foot of the mountain” is not as accurate as the one here presented. It is this unusual phrasing that gave […]

 Shiur provided courtesy of Naaleh.com Adapted by Channie Koplowitz Stein The words signifying the order of the Seder are well known. We begin withKadesh/Sanctifying the Seder night over wine, continuing with another eleven or thirteen (depending on whether some segments are combined or separated) and ending withNirtzah/Acceptance (of our Seder). In the entire order, there is […]

 Shiur provided courtesy of Naaleh.com Adapted by Channie Koplowitz Stein Each of the three-foot festivals is traditionally associated with one of our patriarchs. Pesach is associated with Avraham Avinu. On the simplest level, this understanding is based on the episode of thee three strangers/angels approaching Avraham’s tent. Avraham ran to invite them in, rushed to prepare […]

 Shiur provided courtesy of Naaleh.com Adapted by Channie Koplowitz Stein With the approach of every holiday, one should try to find the themes or major essence of the holiday and see that connection in the liturgy and in the laws and customs of that holiday. While Purim is a holiday of joy and redemption, what thread […]

There is no break between Vayigash and Vayechi, Rashi describes it as a closed Parsha, because of the “closure” (emotional/spiritual) Bnei Yisrael felt when Yaakov died. Why describe the feeling as “closed”? The three reasons we fast on Asara B’Tevet are 1) because the Torah was translated into Greek, Ezra passed away, and because siege […]

 Shiur provided courtesy of Naaleh.com Adapted by Channie Koplowitz Stein            We are all familiar with the story of Chanukah, of how the Syrian Greeks tried to eradicate the Jewish connection to Hashem by desecrating the Beit Hamikdosh and enacting laws to sever that connection, including even prohibiting speaking Hashem’s name. The miracle unfolds when Hashem helped […]