From Sublimation to Intensity
Yom Kippur, the ultimate day of repentance, has the Jewish nation simultaneously praying, fasting and asking for forgiveness. It begins with the somber, quiet, and melodious intonation of Kol Nidrei and ends with the entire congregation shouting Hashem hu HaElokim…
YOM KIPPUR: The 13 Attributes
Over time and even among Sephardim, the Jewish world has adopted practices that viewed objectively are hard to explain. But because they’re mentioned in the Talmud or attributed to some of our great teachers, we accept them on the basis…
You Only Fail When You Stop Trying!
Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, is the holy of holies of Jewish time. It is that rarest of phenomena, a Jewish festival without food. Instead, it is a day of fasting and prayer, introspection, and self-judgment when, collectively and…
One Small Step!
After a big storm, thousands of starfish had washed up on a secluded beach. One day, a man was walking down the beach and saw a stranger picking up one starfish at a time and throwing them back into the…
The Avodah of the Two Goats
Few years ago we had a very special guest, Rabbi Gabriel Sasson, who recently in Brooklyn lost seven members of his family. He addressed us on the subject of emunah and he pointed out the difference between someone whose life…
”…והחתן עמד בפתח מחייך”
החגים הנפלאים שלנו צבעוניים הם. זוהרים בססגוניותם. סעודת ליל ראש השנה על שלל סימניה הטובים: תפוח בדבש- לשנה טובה ומתוקה. גרגירי הרימון האדמדמים- לריבוי זכויות ומצוות. ראש הדג- שנהיה לראש. וחג הסוכות – כמה צבעוני הוא. לאכול בסוכה המקורה בירק…
A Day of Optimism
Have you ever wondered why the Jewish day starts at night? Why is it that Shabbat and Yom Tov begin just before it gets dark in the evening rather than as dawn breaks the next morning? Of course, the obvious…
