In early 2025, a twenty-four-year-old Italian man named Deepak Singh bought a rather unusual Rolex. This was not the kind of Rolex you pick up at the mall because you had a good month and decided your wrist deserved a…
Genesis gives us the first foundations of human life. Each story plants a seed. That seed later grows through individuals, families, nations, and history. The first chapters introduce renewal, freedom, temptation, responsibility, jealousy, exile, and hope. These are not only…
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 angels…
I. Simcha Is Tzmicha How does Torah Judaism understand happiness? What is Jewish joy?Jewish joy is growth. That is the simplest way to say it, and the truest. Sukkot is called “Zman Simchateinu” — the Season of Our Joy —…
Recently, my daughter was driving me to the airport, when she told me about a frustrating customer-service experience she had that day. The person on the other end of the phone clearly was not a native English speaker, and understanding…
“For with You is forgiveness, that You may be feared” There is a Psalm that is often recited throughout the High Holidays. Psalm 130: A song of ascents. From the depths I called You, Hashem. My Lord, hear my voice,…
Introduction What words comes to mind when we think of Rosh Hashanah? Some will mention the months of Elul and Tishrei. Elul is the month that leads straight into Rosh Hashanah, which is at the beginning of the month of…
In July of 1988, someone looking into Lake St. Clair, the relatively small lake sitting between Lake Huron and Lake Erie, discovered a tiny striped shell stuck to something underwater. It was less than an inch long, about the size…