This week’s Torah reading begins with the first commandment G-d ever gave to the first Jew in history – to go to the Land of Israel. The Torah relates that G-d spoke to Abraham, and said, “Go for yourself, from your land, from your relatives and from your father’s house to the land that I…
The Torah begins with the simple and elegant statement that “In the beginning G-d created heaven and earth.” Maimonides understands this as one of our most basic beliefs, as he formulates in his famous thirteen principals of faith. God is eternal and infinite, and everything else is temporary and finite in comparison to Him. The…
Origin of the Species Sukkot features one of the most unusual and picturesque mitzvot, known as the arba minim, the four species. The Torah tells us: You shall take for yourselves on the first day, the fruit of a beautiful tree, the branches of date palms, branches of the thick tree, and brook willows; and…
One of the best-known features of Yom Kippur — sometimes the only thing people know about this day — is the fact that we are forbidden to eat and drink. What is the meaning and purpose of these prohibitions on Yom Kippur? An anthropologist visiting a synagogue on Yom Kippur might think that since no…
There are two aromas that always remind of the onset of Rosh HaShanah – vinegar and honey-cake. My father, OBM, used to blow the shofar at our synagogue in Melbourne, Australia and before Rosh Hashanah he used to clean out his shofars with vinegar. My mother, OBM, used to bake delicious honey cakes for our…
It is customary to add a Psalm to our prayers during the month preceding Rosh Hashanah. The Psalm is Chapter 27 and is one of most beautiful prayers in the book of Psalms. “A Psalm of David. The Lord is my light and my salvation. Whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of…
The Talmud states that we are judged every day, and according to one opinion, every moment – so what is special about Rosh HaShana as the Day of Judgement? One answer to this question is alluded to by Maimonides, and I think is central to our goals at this time of year. The month of…
We just celebrated Rosh Chodesh, the first day of the month of Ellul with special prayers and we began blowing the shofar every day and reciting Psalm 27 as an addition to our prayers. The concepts and lessons contained in the Jewish calendar are so central to our belief that it is necessary to teach…
“You are children of the L-rd your G-d; do not cut yourselves or pluck out hair between your eyes for the dead” (Deuteronomy 14:1). Nachmanides notes that the introduction to the laws forbidding excess mourning for the dead is the statement “You are children of G-d.” He maintains that this teaches us that we are,…
Shokeling During Prayer and Study Introduction Swaying back and forth, or side to side, during prayer and study has been a conspicuous feature of Jewish religious practice for at least a millennium. It has been noted by Christians[2] and Moslems,[3] discussed at length by Jewish legal authorities,[4] and has even been discussed in medical literature.[5]…