This Shabbat marks seventy-five years of the passing away of my great [literally] grandfather, and I would like to dedicate this article to him. The rabbinic roots of the Fetaya family can be traced back to Hakham Reuven David Nawi (1770-1821). Hakham Reuven was disciple of Hakham Moshe Haim, the…
Biblical Sources Among the many issues readers have mentioned in their queries were the role of mandatory prayer in schools, the amount of time dedicated daily to prayers, the difficulty of finding meaning, length, repetition, inability to understand the words, and the judgmental approach towards, or the feelings of guilt…
Rosh HaShana “Seder” and symbolic actions On both nights of Rosh HaShana, it is customary to bring to the table special foods, known as Simanim or symbols. These foods include apple and honey, pomegranate, and dates, among others. There is no need to eat them, and they are rather meant…
A New Commentary on the Book of Ruth Introduction: This commentary focuses on the personal and social message of the book of Ruth, and specifically on the personality or Ruth and her relationships with Naomi. My working assumption is that Naomi was a unique and brave woman, and that Ruth,…
My nephew Yosef is a charming young man with a wide smile, who at twenty-one appears to be no older than fourteen. He is affectionate, but shy and unassuming, and up until a short while ago, could easily blend in the throngs of shoppers at the Mahane Yehudah Shuk, not…
Shemot 2017 Righteous women! Because of their merit, the Israelites were redeemed from Egypt. This beautiful statement, found in the Babylonian Talmud (Sotah 11:2), suggests that women played a pivotal role in the Exodus. We read it and think “well, no one can claim that the Rabbis tried to marginalize…
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…
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…