Judaism (Page 1)


'The Daily Portion': To look beneath the surface

Do you see what the parasha we read yesterday, the Megillah and our currect judicial reform controversy have in common? Actually, you can't.

To look beneath the surface

Eulogy for the holy Jews Hallel and Yagel Yaniv Hy"d

We did not return to our Land in order to dispossess Arabs but if they rise against us, we will fight them and win, all within the law.

Eulogy for the holy Jews Hallel and Yagel Yaniv Hy"d

Impossible to describe the holiness: Purim with Rabbi Druckman

For his students, Rabbi Chaim Druckman was a central component of every holiday, especially Purim.

Impossible to describe the holinessplayer

On Purim – How drunk should a person get?

Why would our Sages instruct us to get drunk, when the Torah and Prophets clearly object to the associated lack of control?

On Purim – How drunk should a person get?

Be who G-d meant you to be and you will set the world on fire

Start the party: Learning from an uncouth dictator how to celebrate life.

Be who G-d meant you to be and you will set the world on fire

Psalm 135: Deliverance from powerful enemies

Israel's first Chief Rabbi: It was never easy to be a Jew.

Psalm 135: Deliverance from powerful enemies

Parashat Tetsave, Shabbat Zachor and Purim

Amalek attacked us. Since Haman is an Amalekite, reading this passage before Purim is a reminder of our perpetual war against evil.

Parashat Tetzaveh,  Shabbat Zachor and Purim

The Cohen Gadol represents all of Am Israel

We, too, should always remember who and what we are representing as we try to bring G-d's Presence closer to us.

The Cohen Gadol represents all of Am Israel

Parshat Tetzaveh: The secret backdoor of the Mishkan!

What's the (incredible) purpose of this Mizbe'ach? And how does this week's parsha connect with Purim?

Parshat Tetzaveh: The secret backdoor of the Mishkan!player

12 precious stones – Harmony and dissonance in diversity

“Diversity—the art of thinking independently together.”–– Malcolm Forbes.

12 precious stones – harmony and dissonance in diversity

Shabbat Beshabbato

News and shiurim for Shabbat.

Shabbat Beshabbato

Eretz Yisrael in the parasha

Young religious Zionist rabbis: How the Beit Hamikdash enlightens the world acting as a spiritual lighthouse in the Holy Land.

Eretz Yisrael in the parasha

The Parsha and Current Events: It’s time for a heart-to-heart talk

If all the Jews 200 years ago were non-observant, there is little reason to believe that there would be a single Jew alive today.

It’s time for a heart-to-heart talk

Dress for success

Thoughts on Parshat Tetzaveh.

Dress for success

Tetzaveh: The Gift of a Birthday

Many think of birth as the beginning of our story, but it is not. It is only the beginning of a new chapter—our chapter on earth.

Tetzaveh: The Gift of a Birthday

The power of priestly clothes

Read the Netivot Shalom, Rav Zalman Sorotzkin, Rav Avigdor Nebenzahl,The Ra’ma, Maharal and more on the power of priestly clothes to atone..

The power of priestly clothes

Rabbi Shimshon Rafael Hirsch on the parasha: Hearing voices

What really happened at Mount Sinai? After all, say skeptics, God doesn't speak to us.

Rabbi Shimshon Rafael Hirsch on the parasha: Hearing voices

Tanya video/lecture: The Holy Epistle

The Tanya compacts four millennia of Jewish wisdom to answer the great personal and existential questions of life.

Tanya video/lecture: The Holy Epistleplayer

Synagogues - a place for thinking

Congregants don’t always realise that the synagogue, especially in the Diaspora, has to be the centre of people’s Jewishness.

Synagogues - a place for thinking

When did the Holocaust begin?

Debate over the name and timeline from 1933 to 1945.

When did the Holocaust begin?

Rabbi Yisroel Reisman captures the Essence of Life

It seems like a contradiction in timing, but it is really a model for living.

Rabbi Yisroel Reisman captures the Essence of Life

Lighting the Rebbe's candle

​​​​​​​The Ben-Eliyahu Farm and the promise of new plantings. PM Netanyahu, we pray that you live up to the Rebbe's blessing to you.

Lighting the Rebbe's candle

Terumah: Betzalel's Wisdom

Betzalel was certainly sharp to be able to reconstruct the original divine message. Why did Moses change the order that God had told him? 

Terumah: Betzalel's Wisdom

Sacred work and bringing people together

Leaders have to bring people together, especially those with disparate interests and backgrounds, to work towards a common purpose.

Sacred work - bringing people together

Are golden cherubs kosher?

If a cherub is okay, why not a golden calf? What is the difference?

Are golden cherubs kosher?

Why cover the cover of the Tabernacle?

Why did the Mishkan have multiple covers? Why was the outer one made of rough - and perhaps ugly - material?

Why cover the cover of the Tabernacle?player

In a dark Exile, whispering trees

Why Chassidus Is critical to trauma healing.

In a dark Exile, whispering trees

The major identity test of life

In this week’s parsha of Terumah the Torah presents a challenge to human behavior.

The major identity test of life

Shabbat Behabbato:Terumah

Selected leading rabbis share their thoughts on this week's Torah Reading.

Shabbat Behabbato: Terumah

The parasha and Eretz Yisrael: The Zohar on the center of the world

Young religiosu Zionist rabbis in Israel study the parasha with an eye on the Holy Land: Is the Land of israel the exact world center?

The parasha and Eretz Yisrael:  Zohar on the center of the world

Why four parshiot on the Tabernacle and less than one on Creation?

What is so significant about the Tabernacle that the Torah dedicates to discussing it more space than the world covenant?

Why four parshiot on the Tabernacle and one on Creation?

Parashat Truma and the month of Adar - a contra to Av

it is appropriate that the Torah-readings for Adar, when we increase in joy, prepare us for building the Mishkan. Numerology attests to it.

Parashat Truma and the month of Adar-a contra to Av

Rabbi Shimshon Refael HIrsch on the Parsha: Refuting a Reform Rabbi

Rabbi Hirsch shows that Torah commandments are in force despite the destruction of the ancient Jewish commonwealth.

Rabbi Shimshon R. HIrsch on the Parsha: Refuting a Reform Rabbi

Terumah: The most extraordinary custom I’ve ever heard of!

A practice of the hassidim of Medieval France - what it is and what it signifies.

Terumah: The most extraordinary custom I’ve ever heard of!

The Parsha and Current Events: The Foundation Stone

Chodesh tov! The Persians threaten once again to annihilate the Jews in one day, this time with a bomb, but they should read the Megillah.

The Parsha and Current Events: The Foundation Stone

Who has the right to give?

There is a contrast between the type of charitable giving in Parashat Terumah and Parashat Ki Tisa.

Who has the right to give?

Weekly Tanya video/lecture: The Holy Epistle

The Tanya compacts four millennia of Jewish wisdom to answer the great personal and existential questions of life.

Weekly Tanya video/lecture: The Holy Epistleplayer

Rosh Chodesh Adar Torah Essay: Sharing joy

What do Chazal exactly want from us this month when they tell us to be happy? And why?

Rosh Chodesh Adar Torah Essay: Sharing joy

Jews in Muslim lands during the Holocaust

Arabs were for the most part apathetic to the Allied cause, while God saved the Sephardic Jews.

Jews in Muslim lands during the Holocaust

Are Jews the smartest people in the world?

Generalizing about Jewish behavior, the writer criticizes Jewish speech and our generalizing about Arabs. But he has a point. Op-ed .

Are Jews the smartest people in the world?

The Judicial System failed to protect the rights of the nationalist minority

The judicial system protected the rights of the secular and anti-Zionists but was tyrannical towards traditional and nationalist citizens.

The Judicial System did not protect the rights of nationalists

The three Pilgrimage Festivals and the Land of Israel

Lessons in Torah readings related to Eretz Yisrael.

The three Pilgrimage Festivals and the Land of Israel

Mishpatim: Slavery in the Torah

Israel's First Chief Rabbi: In general, does the Torah look favorably on the institution of slavery?

Mishpatim: Slavery in the Torah 

Rav S.R. Hirsch on MIshpatim: When the Gemara doesn’t make sense…

How the Sages can derive laws from minutae in the Torah that others don't see..

Rav Hirsch on MIshpatim: When the Gemara doesn’t make sense…

An Eye for an Eye? Really?

Why the discrepancy between the Oral and Written traditions of Judaism?

An Eye for an Eye? Really?

Shabbat B'Shabbato-Mishpatim and Shekalim

A collection of Torah lectures on the parasha, and a picture conundrum.

Shabbat B'Shabbato- MIshpatim and Shekalim

These ordinances could only have been given at Sinai

Selected commentators explain the reasons ordinances between man and his fellow man had to be given at Sinai.

These ordinances could only have been given at Sinai

The Parsha and Current Events: Judicial Reform?

What is really going on in the dispute over judicial reform in Israel? What are they protesting?

The Parsha and Current Events: Judicial Reform?

Parshat Mishpatim: Mistreating a widow is idol worship?

We find 3 mitzvahs with no clear connection between them: don't make offerings to idols, don't mistreat a Ger, and don't mistreat widows.

Mistreating a widow is idol worship?player

Cursing the Leader/Blessing the Leader

“The cruel reality of leadership is that when things go wrong, you take a disproportionate amount of the blame.”

Cursing the Leader/Blessing the Leader

Mishpatim, the legislative parasha

Is this a random selection of mitzvot, or is there a connecting theme?

Mishpatim, the legislative parasha

MIshpatim: The message of individual freedom

Governments that prach equality enslave others without a second thought.

MIshpatim: The message of individual freedom

Judea and Samaria are talking

The Chafetz Chaim once said that world disasters are messages from G-d to do teshuva.

Judea and Samaria are talking

Mishpatim: Why is the world in such a mess?

Why did G-d make a messy world only to dedicate an entire Torah portion to tell us how to clean up the mess?

MIshpatim: Why is the world in such a mess?

Weekly Tanya video/lecture: The Holy Epistle

The Tanya compacts four millennia of Jewish wisdom to answer the great personal and existential questions of life.

Weekly Tanya video/lecture: The Holy Epistle

Jews who fought to defeat the Nazis: Remembering forgotten heroes

One of the biggest lies about the Jewish People during the Holocaust is that they went "like sheep to the slaughter." This is not true.

Jews who fought the Nazis: Remembering forgotten heroes




























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