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…
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…
Many believe that the sin of Sodom was Sodomy. That word was coined after the events described in Genesis (19:1-10): The messengers came to Sodom and were greeted by Lot, took them home and offered them food and shelter. As they were getting ready to sleep, the townspeople besieged the…
Introduction In the famous list of the thirty-nine categories of actions forbidden on Shabbat, the last one is carrying from one domain to another. The first step in understanding this category is defining the domains. The rabbis mentioned three domains: Public Domain – רשות הרבים, Private Domain – רשות היחיד,…
“Mom, Dad, there’s something I need to tell you!” – parents dread this sentence. Over the years, I have counseled many parents, and have been very closely involved with many others as family, friends, and congregants. I do not like generalizations, but I think it would be fair to say…
For Parashat VaYikra The rebuilding of the Temple, and the reestablishment of the sacrifices in it, are central themes in our prayers and rituals, including the Haggadah, but have you ever tried to visualize yourself making the pilgrimage to that Third Temple, with the animal for sacrifice in tow. Imagine…
First Two of the Ten Concepts וַיִּכְתֹּ֣ב עַל־הַלֻּחֹ֗ת אֵ֚ת דִּבְרֵ֣י הַבְּרִ֔ית עֲשֶׂ֖רֶת הַדְּבָרִֽים He [Moshe] wrote on the tablets the words of the covenant, the ten concepts (Ex. 34:28) This passage teaches us that the term “Ten Commandments” is a misnomer. There are two other references to the Ten Commandments…