The Day of Love for the Land of Israel

The Day of Love for the Land of Israel

What's Fasting Got to Do With It?

A day of fasting in the Jewish calendar – such as this Sunday's Fast of Tammuz – is not one of dieting, but rather a day of introspection and teshuva (contrition and remorse). We are not fasting for something far-removed from ourselves, but rather for our situation this very day.

What Is the Definition of Jewish Rule Over the Land of Israel?

Can G-d Break Scientific Laws?

Can G-d break scientific laws? How does Jewish philosophy address the concept of scientific determinism? What is the resolution of the 'debate' between the Rambam and the Maharal regarding whether or not G-d can "change His mind"?

Introspection on the Seventeenth of Tammuz

Fast days are occasion for introspection and repentance. After all, we are not fasting over the distant, unrelated past; we are fasting in response to our own present situation. How is it that instead of mourning we remain complacent and indifferent?

Tu BiShvat - Day for Endearment of the Land

The Land of Israel is not just "territory." She is not just some place in which we are permitted to live. She is not just a piece of land which sustains us, or a beautiful landscape which enchants us. She is all of these things - and more.

Jacob the Patriarch and the Succot Festival

Our nation possesses the inner strength - strength which we inherited from Jacob - to take on the challenging and trying difficulties. Even if our Succah appears to be unstable, a mighty spirit fills its openings and reinforces its cracks.

Who is Entitled to be Called "Rav"?

A necessary requirement of every person who receives rabbinic ordination is to faithfully and selflessly continue the traditions that Moshe Rabbeinu started when he laid his hands upon his pupil Yehoshua Bin Nun.

"Who will ascend the Mountain of God?"

The Sanctuary's status touches upon one of the most delicate subjects in Judaism. God is the antithesis of all material attributes, existing neither in space nor time. How, then, is it possible to conceive of God as confined to a specific place like the Sanctuary?