Sefirat Haomer – The Counting of the Omer

When the Holy Temple stood, a daily sacrifice was brought every morning and evening. The morning prayer שחרית – Shacharit corresponds to and substitutes for the morning sacrifice and מנחה – Mincha, the afternoon service, corresponds and substitutes for the afternoon sacrifice. On Shabbat and each of the festivals and holidays in the Torah, there

The Seder Companion 5785

This booklet may be used at your seder to help understand the Haggadah. This coming Saturday night, the 15th day of Nissan, we will all be sitting at the first Pesach seder celebrating the Passover holiday. Some of us will be hosts to family and friends, while others will be guests at the seder table

A Trip You Can’t Fit in Your Brain<br>Parshas Vayikra 5785

Due to the Pre-Pesach busyness, I’m sending out a repeat email this week. And while it was written long ago (2015 I believe?) and only edited slightly, the message still rings true and clear, so I hope you enjoy! Have a Great Shabbos Last week, I visited Poland for the first time. When you come

Pesach 5785

The Festival of Pesach is, by far, Judaism’s most celebrated holiday. In terms of popularity, it trumps even Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, the “High Holidays.” The theme of freedom that we celebrate on Pesach resonates so deeply within us that Pesach has become a holiday that we want to celebrate. As Americans Jews, who

Max Naumann’s Folly<br>Parshas Pekudei

Hans-Joachim Schoeps, Heinz Georg Salomon Frank, Max Naumann. These are names of people we were told existed, but had a hard time believing. These are a few of the Jewish supporters of the National Socialist German’s Working Party, also known as the Nazi Party. Max Naumann was born in 1875 into an assimilated Eastern European

Shabbat HaChodesh 5785

On the last day of the month of Adar some 3,500 years ago, as the first sliver of the new moon signaling the beginning of the new month Nissan appeared, Hashem taught Moshe and Aharon the mitzvah of sanctifying the new month – קידוש החודש – Kiddush HaChodesh (Exodus 12:1 ,2): א) וַיֹּאמֶר יְדֹוָד אֶל