Belief and disbelief

Ask the rabbi: what are the special customs for Lag b'omer?

To be wholly holy

The kiddush of hashem: drink l'chaim!

Courage counts!

What constitutes chilul hashem, & kiddush hashem?

Holy-istic holiness

Of curses & self-control

Blood and (re)birth

Trauma, Teruma and Temura

“Temura” has the same letters of both trauma & Teruma: The trauma threatened by our enemies only leads to the Teruma, the contribution we bring to the world, & ultimately contributes to our triumph. Am Yisrael Chai!

Moving Heaven and Earth

Har Sinai is a kind of conduit, a connector between Heaven & Earth. It’s message is that every act we perform, every Mitzva we keep, reverberates & impacts both above & below.

All for One, One for All

Why don’t we just make one bracha at the beginning of the count, on the first night, & then say a closing bracha on the last night? Why are there 49 separate brachot recited?!

Learn It, Then Earn It

‘Kedoshim Tehyu, Be Holy!” These opening words of our Sedra constitute the quint-essential “mission statement” of the Jewish People: Be holy throughout your life. But what does “holy” mean?

What Is the “elastic Clause” of Judaism?

The “Eighth” Wonder

The “8th day” was the day when the Mishkan was permanently erected, the day that the Kohanim started their service of bringing the offerings, the 1st of Nisan. With so many amazing events happening all at once, why does the Torah cryptically choose to refer to this day as “the 8th day?”

The Korbanot – Are They for G-d, or for Us?

There is a lot to learn from these korbanot, because the Torah is eternal & nothing in it can be at all insignificant. So let’s see what kernels we can garner

A Tale of Two Mountains

This Shabbat, we find ourselves between two staggering events: the tragedy at Har Meron last Friday, and Yom Yerushalayim this Sunday night and Monday. Two mountains, steeped in Jewish history, associated with the most significant personalities and pathos: Avraham, Yitzchak and Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai.

What to Do With the Tattoo?

How Many Stories Tall Is the Jewish People?

A well known Rabbinic adage emerges from the succession of the next 3 Torah portions: Acharei Mot, Kedoshim, Emor – “after their death, they say Holy!” That is, as soon as you are gone, they talk about how holy you were! But there is yet another spin we can give to this phrase by slightly moving the comma: After the death of the righteous, speak!

The Yovel and You