Matan Rosh Hodesh Elul Torah Essay:
Moving away from Churban and toward Rosh Hashannah
The seven prophecies of consolation guide us every year from crisis to renewal, to restored pride, joy and dignity.
The seven prophecies of consolation guide us every year from crisis to renewal, to restored pride, joy and dignity.
Kabbalistic and Hassidic literature delineate the journey of a person counting the Omer.
'Esther's Wisdom' - A collection of essays for Purim by the Matan Kitvuni Fellows, women scholars and educators.
Esther teaches us that when the nation faces an existential threat, the rules of pikuach nefesh change. Megillat Esther helps us understand how Jewish law views the sacrifice of our soldiers.
The Sages demonstrate that clothing – in the megilla and Tanach in general – is more than just an external aesthetic. It is a catalyst for, and a window into, the spiritual state of a person. And so are our brave soldiers' uniforms.
Tu Bishvat is celebrated at the height of winter: when the trees are bare, and it takes enormous hope and faith to believe that the fruit will come. But they will.
Our generation did not merit a prophecy that explains what unleashed God’s terrible wrath in the midst of our chag. However, we can learn.
The Satah Litton z'l mid- month Emunah Essay: If we dream as Yaakov and Yosef did, perhaps that is already 1/60th of prophecy.
I choose to imagine our celebration after overcoming evil in our day,and seeing the safe return of our soldiers and innocent captives,
These very days, Am Yisrael feels God’s hand in the cruel war that was launched against us.
Emuah Essay: The holiday of Sukkot has the power to give us a boost of emunah for the entire year. It tells us that God is embracing us.
The Sara Litton z”l Monthly Emunah Essay.
Among the customs for this month in which we get ready for the New Year, is the reciting of a specific psalm. Why?
We rely heavily on our sight and often don’t pause to wonder how we are processing what we observe.
During Tammuz, when the summer sun is strong, we must pause and consider our awareness of God’s presence in our seemingly natural lives.
We need the balance of the wins and the failure, the pull to the good and the pull to the bad,
What's in a name?
Next time you flip through a cookbook and see the worn pages and markings, know that you have created physical and spiritual sustenance.
There is something deep going on this month, something that touches on the character of the Jewish people and our relationship with God.
The leadership role is not without fear and to be our own hero is no less significant than being someone else’s hero.
When you look to the moon, she will teach you how to shine in this world, in this relationship with HaKadosh Baruch Hu.
The Sara Litton z”l Monthly Emunah Essay, as Adar draws to a close: the Mishkan and the Purim holiday's long term messages.
What do Chazal exactly want from us this month when they tell us to be happy? And why?
The Sara Litton z”l Monthly Emunah Essay: You have undiscovered holy waters waiting to burst forth from within.
It’s a month of lower energy, long dark nights and may seem a time of דין, judgment, associiated with the tribe of Dan. But there is more.
Rosh Hodesh Tevet Torah Essay,
The Sara Litton z”l Monthly Emunah Essay.
Kislev reminds us that personally and nationally we undergo times of darkness and struggles, and inspires us to overcome them.
The Sara Litton z”l Monthly Emunah Essay,Cheshvan has no holidays,and is therefore the time to appreciate Shabbat even more.
Prayer is our spiritual sustenance and rain is the source of our physical sustenance. Parshiyot Bereshith and Noach exemplify that.
How can we be commanded by the Torah to feel in a certain way?
The 5 events on the 17th of Tammuz are tied together by the astute explanation given by Rabbi Norman Lamm.z"l on why synagogues fail.
One is a thesis. Two is antithesis. Three is synthesis.
Iyar as a month of healing is not merely a word play, but an essential time from Nissan to Sivan for national refinement and recuperation.
Seder night is reliving a great story, becoming part of the night it all started. Read here about its meaning and foundations of our faith.
Wouldn't the mitzva to love one's neighbor be a suitable first commandment to the Jewish people? Why the establishment of the new month?
We daven for a time in the future redemption when the moon’s light will once again be as bright as the sun.
Hashem expresses a double name and the names of a few characters in Tanakh are doubled as well. There is a pattern of meaning here.
Winter is a crucial part of spring, suffering a crucial part of celebration, failure an essential ingredient to success.
Hashem’s presence is in our midst even in the darkness and sometimes most especially in times of tragedy and hardship. Do we stop to listen?
The first translation of the Torah, into Greek, was in Tevet and is part of the reason for fasting on the 10th of Tevet. What is so bad?
Hanukkah is coming, the story reminding us that in the past, we have become enamoured with our own power and too secure in our position.
Founder and Chancellor of the Matan Women’s Institute for Torah Studies announces that after 33 years she will step back.
May the unity experienced at Mount Sinai envelop us once again as we study Torah on the holiday of Shavuot celebrating that event.
Arutz Sheva spoke to Rabbanit Malke Bina, founder of MaTaN, an institution dedicated to furthering women's Torah and Talmud learning.
We must learn to 'pay it forward', realizing that many of the fruits of our labor won’t be ripe for years.
What do we want to return to in Megillat Eicha?
“There is nothing more whole than a broken heart” -Rabbi Menachem Mendel of Kotzk.