Behar – Bechukotai Once again, this Shabbat, we will read two portions, Behar and Bechukotai. The first verse in Behar begins in a peculiar way. It says (Leviticus 25:1): ספר ויקרא פרק כה א) וַיְדַבֵּר יְדֹוָד אֶל משֶׁה בְּהַר סִינַי…
Yom Kippur During the course of the entire year when we say the Shema, the second verse,ברוך שם כבוד מלכותו לעולם ועד , (Baruch shem ..) Blessed is the Honorable Name of Hashem for ever and ever, is said silently.…
Tisha B’Av A story is told about Napoleon who was passing a shul inParis on Tisha B’Av when he heard crying and wailing coming from inside. Thinking that there was something terrible going on, he stepped inside to see what…
The Three Weeks We are in the period of the Jewish year called The Three Weeks. The three weeks are a reference to the three weeks that start with the fast of the seventeenth day of Tamuz, Shiva Assar Be-Tamuz,…
The Ten Days of Teshuva The ten days beginning with Rosh Hashanah and ending with Yom Kippur are called עשרת ימי תשובה The Ten Days of Teshuva. These special days are a gift from Hashem to help us secure a good judgement for the new year.…
Succot The Tur (written by R. Jacob ben Asher 1269-1343) notes in the name of his brother that the three festivals, Pesach, Shavuot, and Sukkot, correspond to our three forefathers, Avraham, Yitzchak, and Yaakov: Passover corresponds to Avraham because the…
Shabbat Hagadol The Shabbat before Pesach is called “שבת הגדול “ The Great Shabbat. What happened on the Shabbat before Pesach that caused it to go down in history forever as The Great Shabbat? The Jewish people left Egypt on…