Jewish Education in the 21st Century
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 young person who is excited and proud about being Jewish, who is determined to lead a Jewish life, to contribute to society, and to bring up the next generation with the same conviction.
June 1, 2026 , Philosophy of Torah
End of Life and Mourning
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.
June 1, 2026 , Death and Mourning
Noah – Parasha Pointers
Noah means comfortable. In 5:29 his father names him so with the hope the new child will bring comfort, yet in 6:6 and in 6:7 the verb נחם, which means to comfort, is used in its other meaning – to regret.
June 1, 2026 , Parshanut
Can a Man Be Unbiased? – Shofetim
Justice, justice shall you pursue, so that you may live and take hold of the land that YHWH your God is about to give you. The Torah stresses, both directly and indirectly, the importance of a judicial system which takes care of all citizens. ... The question must be asked now: can we trust that a male judge will not be biased in favor of men?
June 1, 2026 , Parshanut, Philosophy of Torah
The Queen
The Book of Esther was written for the stage. Each scene is elaborately presented with a description of the setting, the decoration, the protagonists and the dialogue. There are main characters which appear in pairs: King and Queen I, King and Queen II, Queen II and Mordechai, and Haman and Zeresh. There are also groups of sevens: eunuchs (1:10), wise men (1:13), and Esther’s maidens (2:9). Suspense is built ...
June 1, 2026 , Holidays: Purim
Understanding Rashi – BeShalah
1. Shemot 13:17 – Why does Rashi refrain from citing the Midrash? 2. Shemot 13:18 – Did 2.4 million Israelite men die just before the exodus? 3. Food for thought: Did the Israelites pray at the Red Sea?
June 1, 2026 , Parshanut
Organ Transplants, R. Yosef Messas
Organ Transplants and Autopsies: The following is a translation of the groundbreaking response by Rabbi Yossef Messas regarding the permissibility of corneal transplant, which is performed after the donor’s death.
June 1, 2026 , Halacha
Forgive Me, For I have Vowed
In Parashat Mattot we are introduced to the legal intricacies of making vows. I am using the word “vow” here in its halakhic sense, which is a commitment to perform or avoid a certain action. The rabbis of the Mishnah argued that vows can be undone if it can be proven that the one who took the vow was not fully aware of its implications.
May 31, 2026 , Philosophy of Torah
Wrestling a Piece of Canaan
This twenty-verse long paragraph teaches us of Avraham’s struggles to gain permanence in Canaan. It is also a marvelous example of the complexity and subtlety of the biblical narrative.
May 31, 2026 , Parshanut
Who is in the Details?
We are taught to believe that the text of the Torah is extremely economic and succinct, and that Torah and redundancy are mutually exclusive. We therefore cannot help but wonder why the Torah is so verbose when describing the construction of the Tabernacle.
May 31, 2026 , Parshanut, Philosophy of Torah