Time of Freedom?

The sages refer to the holiday of Passover as zman chay’roo’tay’noo, the time of our freedom. This may seem obvious, since Passover celebrates the redemption of the Jewish people…

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OMG! Passover is Coming

The intensive physical and emotional preparations for Passover come from one seemingly simple commandment: "Seven days you will eat only matzah, but on the first day you shall have put…

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The Reward of Honoring Shabbat

According to the wisdom of the sages, there is no way to “over-spend” on Shabbat. As it is said, “One who lends to Shabbat, Shabbat repays him!”(Shabbat 119a). “Lending to Shabbat”…

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Communicating with God

There is an old joke in which the President of the United States receives an exorbitant phone bill after calling God, while the Prime Minister of Israel gets to call God as a free local…

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Our Cherubs

This time of year, late January, the fat little cupids that line the store aisles are frequently referred to as cherubs. There is, most certainly, a fascinating history as to how a Roman…

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Indirect Damages

“An eye for an eye” (Exodus 21:24) is one of the most commonly quoted phrases from the Hebrew Bible. This phrase, of course, is part of Jewish civil law and serves as the original…

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Jethro’s Tell

Great leaders are often those who are able to accept criticism. It seems to be, the higher one’s position of leadership, the fewer suggestions people are willing to make. Imagine how…

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Twice To The Grave?

What happens when a final resting place isn’t so final? In our modern era of perpetual development and expanding cities, it is not unheard of for there to be requests to relocate entire…

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He Shall Be Praised

Many of us remember learning to write research papers in school. Critical to receiving a good grade was composing a proper concluding paragraph to serve as a summation. While the prayer…

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The Chanukiyah

The term menorah is used for both the classic symbol of the holiday of Chanukah and the great seven-branched candelabra that was built in the wilderness following explicit Divine…

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