The Ten Days of Teshuva
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 (Repentance). These special days are a gift from Hashem to help us secure…
Just Keep Walking
Parshat Ki Tavo 5778
We do like our gyms, us Americans. With about 36,450 gyms spread out across the fifty states, there are more gyms in the USA than McDonalds, Wendy’s and Burger Kings combined! Bringing in over $27 billion a year, the gym,…
Rosh Hashanah Part II
Rosh Hashanah Part II The Men of the Great Assembly, אנשי כנסת הגדולה , composed the prayers in the סדור, Siddur, the Jewish prayer book . This esteemed assemblage comprised 120 holy rabbis, many of whom were also prophets. As…
Rosh Hashanah Part I
Rosh Hashanah Part I The 1st day of the month of Tishrei is Rosh Hashanah, the Day of Judgment. Why on this day did Hashem decide to judge the world? We celebrate Passover on the 15th of Nissan because it…
Elul 5578
The Month of Elul Rosh Hashanah, which falls on the 1st day of the month of Tishrei (this year, Sunday night, September 9th), marks the beginning of the new year 5779. This counts the years since the world’s creation, which…
Parshat Shoftim 5778
Parshat Shoftim תשע"ח If statistics are correct, Jews comprise .02% of the world’s population. There are over 2.5 billion Christians, almost 2 billion Muslims, billions more people in many other religions, including non-believers. The Torah instructs us to follow the…
Parshat Reeh 5778
Parshat Reeh This week’s portion discloses the secret to becoming wealthy. (This is the oldest get rich scheme in the book!) The verse says: ספר דברים פרק יד כב) עַשֵּׂר תְּעַשֵּׂר אֵת כָּל תְּבוּאַת זַרְעֶךָ הַיֹּצֵא הַשָּׂדֶה שָׁנָה שָׁנָה 22)…
Get Out There!
Parshat Eikev
The closer you get to the fire, the hotter it gets. The closer you get to the band the louder the music gets. The closer you get to the rain the cozier it gets. Last week our family went on…
Parshat Eikev 5778
Parshat Eikev In this week’s portion we come to the only ברכה - blessing mandated by the Torah according to all opinions. This blessing is the ברכת המזון - Birkat Hamazon, the Grace after meals. It is derived from…
Sorry, but You are so Pavlovian!
Parshat Vaetchanan
Do you know anyone who fancies himself a connoisseur? Do they feel they are an aficionado, cognizant of the essential differences between designer garb and inferior clothing? Or perhaps they consider themselves true gourmands, people who know how to appreciate…