To kiss is to express intimacy; to dance is to fill space with movement, with passion and joy.  In small and large ways, to kiss and to dance are ways to express love and devotion, two sentiments at the heart of the Simchat Torah celebration. Torah is our most precious possession, our gift.  To our […]

In the last shiur we looked at showering on Yom Tov and the tricky question of whether the halacha, as laid down by the Gemara and the Shulchan Aruch, is still unchanged today, give the different reality of bathing habits in the 21st Century. In this shiur we will engage with the issue of dancing […]

In today’s world, where many people shower at least once daily, not showering can be a cause of discomfort. Where there are two days of Yom Tov – such as a Rosh Hashana in all places or other Chagim in chu’l, this concern is deepened. In some cases there can be three days of Chag […]

Download PDF Joshua 1:1-18 The Haftarah picks up immediately after Moses’s death in today’s Torah reading. Joshua takes the reins of leadership with multiple tasks before him, including crossing the Jordan River and conquering the land of Canaan.  He must also ensure that the two and a half tribes whom Moshe permitted to settle the […]

Pursuant to our acclaimed “Sinai at Home” program, OU Torah Initiatives is proud to present Chag at Home, a way for all of us to get our holiday inspiration in this pandemic era. Chag at Home features dozens of packets of educational material – articles, source sheets, family discussions, and more – to enable individuals […]

Shiur provided courtesy of Torah Anytime

Simchas Torah! Surely near the top of everyone’s list for Most Joyous Holiday, vying only with Purim as serious competition. And that starts when we are very young, too small to understand, but caught up in the excitement of the singing and dancing, each child in turn being given his or her moments in the […]

How did it get so late so soon? – Dr. Seuss Siyum, the Hebrew word for “termination” means so much more than that.  It is a celebration observed when we reach a worthy moment of completion as when we complete the study of a tractate of Talmud or the finishing of the Torah cycle.  There are, […]

Wouldn’t it make more sense to begin the annual Torah cycle at the beginning of the year? What is the connection between Shemini Atzeret and finishing the Torah? Why is rejoicing over the Torah on Yom Tov not a problem of אין מערבין שמחה בשמחה? Shiur provided courtesy of Torah Anytime