On the night of Yom Haatzmaut, my wife and I passed through Kikar Rabin to celebrate with thousands of our fellow countrymen. As we left the square on our way home, we passed some blue and white clad people handing out glossy, colored pamphlets. My instinctive reaction was to politely wave them off and continue […]
Today we remember the more than twenty thousands soldiers and civilians that fell in defense of Israel. It is no coincidence that we celebrate our independence directly following this day, for although Yom Hazikaron (the day of remembrance) is a day of solemn introspection, it is not a day of mourning. We do not sit […]
Today is Yom Hashoah, the day when we remember and honor the sacrifice of our six million brothers and sisters who were murdered during the holocaust, as well as those that survived to rebuild. Here in Israel the day is filled with inspirational and emotional programs and testimonies from survivors. At 10:00am this morning, the […]
One of the most important lessons we can learn from Passover is to literally “pass over” the stuff that really isn’t that important but that constantly seems to stress us out. So, when you feel that anger, frustration, and mega-stress taking over and threatening to ruin your day — “pass over” it. Hop right over […]
During the seder, when the wise son eagerly inquires as to the details of the laws of Pesach, the Haggadah tells us to begin by teaching him the laws of the Afikomen. Out of all of the important laws of Pesach, why is the afikomen chosen? The term “Afikoman” is derived from the Greek work […]
Every Passover we sing a beautiful song towards the end of the Seder. The refrain of the song is “Dayenu”, which means “it would be enough for us”. The song enumerates the great miracles performed for the Jewish people from the Exodus until their entrance into the Land of Israel and after each one proclaims […]
I recently was searching for a spot in the Mamilla parking lot in Jerusalem. Empty parking spots were scarce, and the traffic in the lot was building. I let a driver merge into the lane in front of me seconds before a spot opened up. The driver quickly moved into position to snag the spot, […]
The command to observe the Shabbat is almost always prefaced by the statement, “you shall do your work for six days etc.” Why the need for this prologue related to the regular week? Why doesn’t the Torah just tell us about the actual day of Shabbat? One possible reason is that the Torah is making […]
Chametz is prohibited on Pesach. What is it? One of the five grains (wheat, rye, oats, spelt, barley) mixed with water,and left idle for more than 18 minutes. As long as the dough is worked (kneaded), it cannot become Chametz. Our sages teach that Chametz represents haughtiness and ego (Guy-vah). On Pesach we destroy our […]
The theme of Purim and the Megillah is Hester Panim, the hiding of the Divine. God’s name does not appear in the Megillah. The miraculous salvation of the Jews doesn’t seems might like a coincidental chain of events that happen to come together in just the right way to produce the successful results. God is […]