Of all of the Festivals and Holy Days in the Jewish calendar, Chanukah is the one most surrounded in mystery. When the Sages introduce us to this Rabbinic Yom Tov, they begin with the question: ?מַאי חֲנוּכָּה What is Chanukah? In other words, what does Chanukah mean, and why do we celebrate it? Yet, the…
BS”D There are two ways to serve Hashem as hinted to in the prayers on Rosh HaShana: “If like children… if like servants…” A child doesn’t have to do anything to get this designation. When it comes to Hashem, he merely needs to acknowledge the fact that he is a child: “I’m Your child; You’re…
BS”D It is written: כל דור שאינו נבנה בימיו מעלין עליו כאילו הוא החריבו Any generation in which [the Temple] was not built in their days, They consider it upon them as if they destroyed it (Yerushalmi, Yoma 5a). In other words, the very same lack of merit the led to the destruction of the Beis HaMikdash…
Read More “Building the Beis HaMikdash from the Inside Out” »
BS”D In Sefer Tehillim (95:7) it says that we are Hashem’s people “today, if you hear His Voice.” But, what does it mean in a practical sense to “hear” Hashem’s Voice? What exactly are we supposed to be listening for? A Bas Kol from Shamayim? And [Hashem] said: “Go out and stand in the mountain…
BS”D Lag B’Omer in 2020 will not be like any other year. This year will be something special. The light of Rebbe Shimon Bar Yochai won’t be shining on countless maduras (bonfires) in Jewish communities throughout the world, nor on the hundreds of thousands who would normally flock to Meron to be with the Tzadik…
