The 17th day of Tammuz (July 24, 2016) is a sun-up to sun-down fast day in the Jewish Calendar. It is the day on which five major tragedies happened in our history. The Roman siege of Jerusalem began on this day which ultimately led to the destruction of the second Read more
Rabbi Chanina said, “I have learned much from my teachers, more from my colleagues, and the most from my students” (Ta’anit 7a). I always try to teach my students to love the Land of Israel with all their heart and soul. Here are the wonderful words of one of my Read more
Why Did the Children of Israel have to Suffer as Slaves in Egypt? This week we begin the book of Shmot (Exodus) It begins with the enslavement of the Jews in Egypt and their ultimate redemption through the 10 plagues and the Exodus from Egypt under Moshe’s leadership. Since God Read more
One of my seminary students shares a deep message from this week’s Torah Portion – Trumah The Parsha deals with the donations the Children of Israel gave in order to build the Tabernacle in the desert. Kailah is one of a group of young Jewish women who have chosen to Read more
We are not in control of results in this world. Only God is. We can only control how much effort we choose to put into a task to help achieve our goals. In the Mishna, Ben Heh Heh teaches us, “According to the Effort is the Reward.” That means, when Read more
It was Matityahu (Mattathias) from the Hasmonaean priestly family who initiated (more…)
We saw some oranges from the supermarket today and I got excited! Really? A couple of oranges?!! What’s so exciting? Well it’s the month of Kislev (December) here in the Galilee and Hanukkah is approaching. So even though the weather is stunningly warm and sunny, and the Kalla lilies are Read more