Weather and Politics There’s an old joke attributed to various Nineteenth-Century American writers that essentially says, “Lots of people talk about the weather, but they never do anything about it.” […]
Sukkot is referred to in our prayers as our time of happiness. Why is this specifically our time of happiness? The Yalkut Shimoni (Emor, 654) writes that this is an […]
Who are we Fooling? Yom Kippur, the most awesome day of the year, arouses great trepidation. How do we approach this great day, a day of teshuvah (repentance) and forgiveness? […]
Ask the Rabbi with Rabbi Chaim Mintz Is it important in Judaism to forgive those who have hurt us? And what about someone who doesn’t ask me for forgiveness, or […]
Torah Study in Turbulent Times In this week’s Torah reading, we are given the last mitzvah (commandment) of the Torah – to write a Torah scroll. The Chofetz Chaim points […]
Why Not Pray More for Our Needs? On the holy day of Rosh Hashanah, the greater part of our tefillah (prayer) is for the kevod Malchuto yitbarach, for the honor […]
Because You Did Not Serve Him with Happiness This week’s Torah reading warns us of terrible curses which the Jewish Nation can potentially suffer. What might one do to deserve […]
A Frightening Judgement Look around you on Rosh Hashanah or Yom Kippur as the powerful, frightening piyut (liturgical poem) of Unetaneh Tokef is sung during the Mussaf prayer. This awe-inspiring section depicts […]
First we need the big picture. Then we probe individually. Rosh Hashana is the forest. Yom Kippur is each tree. How do our actions differ, From the goals Hashem (God) […]
