Don’t Take Israel for Granted

The Talmud in Tractate Chulin says something quite astonishing. It states that “idolaters outside of Israel are not really idolaters; they are just following the customs of their ancestors.”  In other words, authentic idolatry only exists in Israel! Now that is a shocking statement, because it appears that Israel, the holy land, the land of prophecy, the land where all the commandments apply, the land where almost all the prophets ...

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The Ninth of Av

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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Cause of the Destruction

We are in the middle of the three week period of mourning for the destruction of both the first and second Temples and, in general, for all the tragedies of the exile and dispersion of the Jewish people. What terrible sins led to the destruction of the Temple and the exile of the Jewish people?   If we understand the fundamental flaws that precipitated these events, we can begin to take ...

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