The Jews have never accepted the fact that the Temples were destroyed; they never accepted the fact that they were exiled from their land and in fact are still in exile. That is why the Jews are still in mourning - still sitting shiva - because we refuse to accept the situation; because we refuse to forget. View this video directly on Vimeo.
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The fast of the Ninth of Av, Tisha B’Av, is the most famous and the most stringent of all the fasts relating to the destruction of the Temple and the Exile. The very first tragedy to occur on this day took place soon after the Exodus from Egypt. The Jewish people sent spies to the Land of Israel, in preparation for its conquest. When the spies returned with a discouraging ...
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Despite the dreadful, heartbreaking nature of Tisha B’Av, an element of happiness is concealed within it. Tisha B’Av is called a mo’ed, meaning festival, and certain prayers associated with sadness that are omitted on happy occasions are, in fact, not said on this day. What is the source of the joy that lightens our mourning on Tisha B’Av? Some commentaries explain that it springs from the knowledge that eventually, at ...
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Rabbi Becher's VLOG
Rabbi Mordechai Becher’s VLog – I’m A Believer, Yes I Am…- Parshat Matot/Masei 5779
On the first Tisha B'Av, the Jews in the desert did not believe in themselves. Rabbi Mordechai Becher says we will reach the time of Redemption when the Jews believe in themselves as much as G-d Himself believes in us! View this video directly on Vimeo.
Read MoreIn the midst of the attempt of Balak and Bilam to destroy the Jewish people, the angel of G-d reminds them not to hurt animals. Rabbi Becher wonders why and why now? View this video directly on Vimeo.
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The Seventeenth of Tammuz, this coming Sunday, occurs exactly three weeks before Tisha B’Av and is the next most significant fast day. The Mishnah states: Five things happened to our ancestors on the 17th of Tammuz — The First Tablets were broken, the daily offering ceased, the walls of Jerusalem were breached, the evil Apostomus burnt a Torah scroll, and an idol was set up in the Sanctuary. The first calamity to ...
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The Torah reading for this week begins with an intricate series of laws regarding purity, impurity and purification. This involved many details which appear to some to be, excessive, a complaint commonly heard about Jewish law in general. I would like to explain one idea behind all this detail: consistency. Consistency is much more difficult to achieve than one might expect. Imagine someone waking up one morning and making a firm ...
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Rabbi Becher's VLOG
Rabbi Mordechai Becher’s VLog – Partnership and the Talmud – Parshat Chukat 5779
Rabbi Becher is learning tractate "Bava Basra", which opens with the laws of shared living spaces, but in essence is talking about how our entire society is one large partnership, and that we should act as if we are partners with our fellow man. View this video directly on Vimeo.
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Rabbi Becher's VLOG
Rabbi Mordechai Becher’s VLog – Spies: Then and Now – Parshat Shelach Lecha 5779
This week's parsha and haftara has stories about spies, and on that note, Rabbi Becher speaks about several spies who worked for the Mossad and other parts of the Israeli government including: Peter Malkin, Wolfgang Lotz, Eli Cohen and other spies whose names are still classified. View this video directly on Vimeo.
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I recently observed the Yarhzeit (yearly anniversary of the passing of a relative) of my mother, of blessed memory. Part of the observance is saying Kaddish, a prayer that is said by mourners and by the prayer leader. Kaddish was instituted almost 2,000 years ago and is mentioned in numerous places in the Mishnah and Talmud. Kaddish is written in Aramaic, the spoken language of the Jews in Israel and ...
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