In Part I, we learned that the Torah treats the Land of Israel as a “Morasha” – a Heritage handed down from the previous generation. The Land must be possessed and preserved by the current generation to be handed down to the next generation for eternity. The idea to “give Read more
On January 28, 2020 President Trump announced the “Deal of the Century.” It is his plan to settle the conflict between the State of Israel and the Palestinian Arabs. (Read all 181 pages here) Unlike any previous peace plans in the history of the State of Israel, this one was Read more
Genesis 18:1-8 finds Avraham recovering from his circumcision in the heat of the desert day. Yet, when he sees three men appear, he runs to greet them and invite them into his tent to refresh themselves. The Midrash tells us that after Avraham would feed his guests, he would ask Read more
The days between Rosh HaShanah and Yom Kippur are taken seriously in Israel… you can feel it in the air. Everyone is preparing – whether they are in Torah study halls or in businesses. I teach once a week in Netanya at a post-high school gap year seminary program for Read more
Seeing Through Wine-Colored Lenses – Shlach (Numbers 13-15) In Israel, we are ahead of the Diaspora and are reading the story of Moses sending the spies into the Land. Here’s a deeper understanding of the episode from my Rabbi and friend Ari Kahn. It was not supposed to happen this Read more
In Israel this past weekend we celebrated Shabbat followed by the Festival of Shavuot. Since Passover, we counted 49 days, and on the 50th day (Saturday night and Sunday) we mark the day that the Nation of Israel stood at the foot of Mount Sinai and accepted the revelation of Read more
It’s Nissan (beginning on April 6, 2019) , the Hebrew month of our redemption and therefore time to bless the blossoming fruit trees in Israel. Here I am in our garden in Yavne’el a few years ago making the traditional blessing over the Lemon, Orange and Grapefruit trees which are Read more
This week we begin a new annual cycle of Torah readings on Shabbat. After celebrating the completion of last year’s cycle on the festival of Shemini Atzeret (Simchat Torah) (more…)
At the end of this post is the ancient prayer authored by King Hezekiah that we should be shouting to the heavens These are frightening times for the People of Israel. The enemy has slaughtered eleven of God’s children in the the middle of Shabbat Prayers in a Synagogue. It’s Read more
We had a wonderful and meaningful Rosh HaShanah and Yom Kippur — and now Sukkot is just about here in Yavne’el. Sukkot is called Zman Simchateinu (Time of our Joy) and it is the happiest time of the Jewish year as we celebrate with our families in our Sukkah. One Read more