Parshat Bereshit 5784

Parshat Bereshit תשפ"ד Last Shabbat– (Shemini Atzeret morning), the world woke up to the news that Israel was under a deadly attack. Hamas staged a major uprising. Entering Israel from Gaza, they murdered, in cold blood, nearly 1,000 soldiers, policemen,…

Continue ReadingParshat Bereshit 5784

Sukkot II 5784

Sukkot II תשפ"ד        The Sukkot holiday is blessed with two mitzvot: the mitzvah to dwell in the sukkah for seven days, and the mitzvah to take the four species – the lulav, etrog, hadas  (myrtle), and aravah  (brook willow).…

Continue ReadingSukkot II 5784

Sukkos 5784

Sukkot תשפ"ד 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…

Continue ReadingSukkos 5784

Yom Kippur 5784

Yom Kippur תשפ"ד During the course of the year when we twice daily say the Shema, we recite the second verse,ברוך שם כבוד מלכותו לעולם ועד  (Baruch shem ..) Blessed forever is Hashem’s Honorable Name, silently. On Yom Kippur, though,…

Continue ReadingYom Kippur 5784

Rosh Hashanah 5783

Rosh Hashanah תשפ"ג The Torah (Deuteronomy 29:1) calls Rosh Hashanah, “יום תרועה” a day of “teruah.” The exact meaning of the word “teruah” is a mystery. A bit of detective work was necessary to determine its meaning. The first step…

Continue ReadingRosh Hashanah 5783