Yom Kippur 5782

Yom Kippur During the course of the year when we twice daily say the Shema, the second verse, ברוך שם כבוד מלכותו לעולם ועד  (Baruch shem ..) Blessed forever is Hashem’s Honorable Name, is said silently. On Yom Kippur, however, in the evening and…

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Rosh Hashana 5782

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

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Parshat Ki Tavo 5781

Ki Tavo תשעט In the glorious days of the Holy Temple, every week, in cities all over the Land of Israel, one of the 24 families of Cohanim, and the Levites assigned to them, would meet to travel together to Jerusalem.…

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Parshat Ki Tetzei 5781

Ki Tetzei תשפא   The Torah teaches us in this week’s parsha Deuteronomy (22:6,7):  (ו) כִּי יִקָּרֵא קַן צִפּוֹר לְפָנֶיךָ בַּדֶּרֶךְ בְּכָל עֵץ אוֹ עַל הָאָרֶץ אֶפְרֹחִים אוֹ בֵיצִים וְהָאֵם רֹבֶצֶת עַל הָאֶפְרֹחִים אוֹ עַל הַבֵּיצִים לֹא תִקַּח הָאֵם עַל הַבָּנִים: (ז)…

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