The Jews Of Jamaica
As in many countries of the New World, the Jewish history of Jamaica begins with conversos, the secret Jews who fled Spain. They came to the New World seeking not only new opportunities,…
The Four Species
The waving of the four species is one of the most beautiful and symbolic mitzvot of the year.Indeed, there is a special commandment (Leviticus 23:40) that one make a specific effort to…
A Trap of Wealth
If I were a rich man...The most important men in town will come to fawn on me...When you’re rich they think you really know... The now classic words from the Broadway show Fiddler on the…
Rebuke for Good
It is “human nature” to question the ups and downs of life. Of course, people mostly question the downs of life. The Jewish view of the world, however, is that nothing happens by chance.…
Chanukah and Divine Order
Chanukah always overlaps with at least one Shabbat (if not two), and since Chanukah begins on the 25th of Kislev and lasts for eight days, the holiday always coincides with the…
The Four Species
The waving of the four species is one of the most beautiful and symbolic mitzvot of the year. Indeed, there is a special commandment (Leviticus 23:40) that one make a specific effort to…
As the Wind Blows
The Torah is full of fascinating, unexpected and, some might say, poetic connections. Many of these associations are not obvious because they are spread throughout the many texts of…
Rav Saadia Gaon
Rabbi Saadia ben Joseph, known by the appellation Rav Saadia Gaon (Gaon was the title of the religious leader of the Jewish community in Babylon) is best known in history as a philosopher…
“The Splendor”
While the study of Kabbalah (Jewish mysticism) has always been a part of Torah study, it only gained public prominence in the early 14th century when a Spanish rabbi, Moses de Leon,…