Rashi on Shemot Genesis and Exodus have each its personality. The former starts with cosmic events and segues into the details of the first Hebrew families, while the latter focuses on the nation as whole, and on its journey from slavery to freedom and to nationhood. Rashi’s commentary, accordingly, wears…
In a famous passage in Exodus, God reveals some of His ways to Moses, who is hidden at the crevice of the rock. This very powerful passage is recited numerous times on Kippur with great enthusiasm. To continue the prayer, skip to the next Hebrew section. If you wish to…
Building the Sukkah The sukkah should be built before the holiday, but it could also be built during Hol HaMoed. A Sukkah built under a tree is kosher, as long as it has enough shade of its own. If the branches are very low and close to the Sukkah’s roof,…
Teshuva by Rabbi Haim Ovadia afot, step by step: 1-3. PKS cannot be gathering the hair, because that does not fit the Talmudic label of weaving, and because there is a distinct word for that action – combing, from the root סרק. 4-7. Rashi contradicts himself by explaining PKS in…
For Rosh HaShana 5778 עוקד והנעקד והמזבח – These words are the refrain of a poem chanted by all Sephardic communities, from the Iberian Peninsula to North Africa, from Iran to Jerusalem. The meaning of these words is: He who bounds; He who is bound; The Altar. Those three Hebrew…
By R. Haim Ovadia To create a perfect, or at least optimal, system of Jewish education, we first must define the desired outcome. What do we expect our child to become after 12 years of Jewish education? I believe that the answer is that we would aspire to have a…
A Brief Guide of Laws, Practices, and Alternatives Dear Readers, This series will deal with themes we would rather not deal with. Talking about sickness, the end of life, burial, and mourning, reminds us of our frailty and weakness. It is understandable that the prevalent attitude to the laws concerning…
When the leper heals, he brings two live birds, cedar, crimson wool, and hyssop. The priest will slaughter one bird onto a clay vessel filled with fresh water. He will then dip the live bird, with the cedar, crimson wool, and hyssop, in the mixture of blood and water. He…
In this article I wish to present the history of the practice of abstaining from eating meat and drinking wine for nine days, from the first to the ninth of Av. I do not seek to rule on the matter (especially since I spent several years of my life as…
Of all the questions surrounding the ten plagues of Egypt, none has captured the interest of commentators throughout the ages as much as the question of how can God disrupt Pharaoh’s decision-making process, and then hold him accountable for it. This question fascinates believers because it has direct application to…