Jewish Holidays

What conditions must be fulfilled in order for the roof of a Succah to be Kosher? Is one permitted to sleep in a bunkbed in the Succah? Is there a problem wearing a large hat in the Succah? Rabbi Eliezer Melamed addresses these and other questions in his lucid and distinct style.

Our redemption comes via our own self-sacrifice. Still, all exertion on our part is repaid for generously through God's attribute of mercy, through an outpouring of divine assistance to forward our redemption.

Precisely a gradual redemption, a redemption which lacks splendor, which evolves slowly and is played out over an extended period of time - precisely this sort of redemption has the power to uplift all aspects of existence.

One who receives something for nothing does not always know how to appreciate it as he should. The more we sacrifice ourselves for the sake of possessing the Land the greater will our bond with the Land be.

The Days of Repentance confront us with the challenge to "renew your actions in the first month." Renewal, self-examination, and reestablishment of values. Sowing the seeds and sorting the grain anew.

The number ten symbolizes the peak of completeness and community, the height of sanctity. The destruction of the Temple began on the ninth, but it was on the tenth of Av that it reached its fiery peak. On that day, the Savior of Israel was born.

Just as the Jewish people never forgot their land and has now returned to it, they will, in the same respect, never forget the Holy Temple and will return to it as well - God willing, speedily in our days

If, as we know to be the case, during the period of the Second Commonwealth Jews busied themselves studying Torah, doing Mitzvoth, and performing acts of kindness, why was the Holy Temple destroyed? Answer: Because of groundless hatred.