Jewish Holidays

The Bach, Chatam Sofer and Rav Kook elaborate on the "Vitamins of Holiness" found in the produce of Eretz Yisrael, who's consumption brings us closer to God & spirituality. The class discusses practical applications of this idea, as well as explaining why we say Shir HaMa'alot/Al Neharot Bavel before bentching; why is it called "Canaan Land"; why there is detailed significance in the order in which we eat the 7 species of fruit of Israel; why the manna only stopped when we began eating Israel's produce; a in-depth analysis of the Al HaMichya blessing, and an unforgettably unique explanation of the term: "Land of Milk & Honey". For Rav Shvat's tune to learn Al HaMichya by heart, see: https://www.halachayomit.com/rabasalhamichya.html

Something interesting about the Jewish month of Adar: In some years there is one Adar, while in leap years, there are two consecutive Adars. This raises the question: In which Adar is Purim celebrated in leap years? The answer is: in the Adar that immediately precedes the month of Nissan, and not the earlier Adar. This is in order that Purim can be commemorated as close to Pesah as possible. The reason this is so important has to do with the inherent link between the Redemption of Purim and that of Pesah.

Scholars of the Bible and Rabbinic writings know that the Scroll of Esther took place at roughly the same time as the beginning of the Book of Ezra...During that period, only a small minority of the Jewish People moved back to the Land: just over 43,000 people. The others did not heed the prophetic call, and preferred to remain with the fleshpots and other enjoyments of the exile... But this raises a well-known question: Why did Mordechai HaYehudi, the great righteous man, remain in Shushan, when he had a chance to return to our Holy Land and rebuild Jerusalem and the Holy Temple? Actually, we read in the Book of Ezra (2,2), that Mordechai was one of the leaders of those who did return to the Land of Israel – which means that he later returned to Shushan! Why did he do this?...

Scholars of the Bible and Rabbinic writings know that the Scroll of Esther took place at roughly the same time as the beginning of the Book of Ezra...During that period, only a small minority of the Jewish People moved back to the Land: just over 43,000 people. The others did not heed the prophetic call, and preferred to remain with the fleshpots and other enjoyments of the exile... But this raises a well-known question: Why did Mordechai HaYehudi, the great righteous man, remain in Shushan, when he had a chance to return to our Holy Land and rebuild Jerusalem and the Holy Temple? Actually, we read in the Book of Ezra (2,2), that Mordechai was one of the leaders of those who did return to the Land of Israel – which means that he later returned to Shushan! Why did he do this?...

The Day of Love for the Land of Israel

The initial letters of the weekly Torah portions that we read publicly over the course of the next few weeks, starting with Shmot, spell out the Hebrew word "Shovavim." Thus, the coming weeks are the "Days of Shovavim," widely regarded as days of fasting and atonement. The acronym Shovavim is also a Hebrew word meaning "troublemakers." In Yirmiyahu 3,22 appears the prophet's exhortation, "Return [repent], children who are shovavim" – and thus is revealed the connection between repentance and this Shovavim period...

For Chanuka: Rav Kook on: Adopting the Positive Without the Negative of Greek/Western Culture Chanuka is a good opportunity to study Rav Kook's detailed advise regarding how exactly to adopt the good from the Western and modern world without the problematic and negative aspects. The class gleans many sources on this central topic of Rav Kook's various books and summarizes the Who, What, Where and How of this basic issue for religious-Zionist and Modern-Orthodox Jews.