Fences
The Bible commands the owner of a home with a flat roof to put up a ma’akeh - a fence - around the roof, so that blood will not be on the owner’s hands (Deuteronomy…
A Loan For Charity
Giving charity is one of the best known precepts of “religious” life. Making loans, however, is not. The Torah instructs (Deuteronomy 15:7-8) that if there is a needy person within your…
The Ghetto Of Venice
The Jewish ghetto of Venice, made famous in William Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice ( “Shylock” ), was actually the very first “ghetto.” That does not mean that when the Venetian…
There’s A Key In My Challah!
It's a fact that many people spend much time thinking and even worrying about par'nassah (livelihood). Jewish tradition teaches that different seasons have different spiritual strengths.…
There’s A Key In My Challah!
It's a fact that many people spend much time thinking about, or even worrying about, par'nassah (livelihood). Jewish tradition teaches that different seasons have different spiritual…
Mezuzah: Complete Fulfillment
A mezuzah on the doorpost is a public sign of a Jewish home. If you open the decorative container of the mezuzah you will find a piece of parchment with two sets of Hebrew verses from…
Women of Vision
Our sages teach that there were seven women famed for their prophecy. (Talmud Megilla 14a states that only prophecies with a message for the future were recorded. In reality, there were…
The Final Analysis
After the soul departs, it journeys to the gates of heaven where it must present its case for entry. The Talmud (Shabbat 31a) states, “In the hour when an individual is brought before the…
Changing Ukraine
Kiev, Odessa, Zhitomyr, Uman...the cities of Ukraine are places marked in Jewish history for both horror and hope. Jews have lived in Ukraine for well-over a thousand years, and there is…
Yonah of Geronah
It is a fact of history that students have frequently been at the center of radical movements, often under the influence of a teacher or mentor. This was the case of Rabbi Yonah of…