Rabbi Ephraim Sprecher, Dean of Students and Senior Lecturer at Diaspora Yeshiva, is not only a popular speaker and teacher, but also a dynamic thinker and writer. A student of Harav Yaakov Kamenetsky and Harav Gedalia Schorr, Rabbi Sprecher was granted smicha (rabbinical ordination) by Torah Vodaath Yeshiva. Prior to his current position, Rabbi Sprecher was a professor of Judaic studies at Touro College in New York. In addition to his duties at Diaspora Yeshiva, Rabbi Sprecher writes a regular column on various Judaic topics in the Jewish Press, and lectures regularly at the OU Israel Center in Jerusalem.
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 The Menora – Symbol of the 7 Branches of Science  .: Viewed: 2885 times :.
The Torah commands Aharon, the High Priest, "When you light the lamps, towards the center of the Menora shall the seven lamps cast light." (Bamidbar 8:2) According to the Maharal and Rabbi Yonatan Eybishuts, the seven branches of the Menora represent the seven pillars of secular wisdom, knowledge and science. The Rambam in Hilchot Yesodei Hatorah Ch. 2 states that when you study nature and the...
Published: May 28, 2014
 Nazir – The Torah's Spiritual Rehab  .: Viewed: 1869 times :.
The Torah's attitude towards the Nazir seems perplexing and contradictory. On the one hand, the Torah calls him holy as it says, "He is holy to G-d." (Bamidbar 6:8). On the other hand, the Nazir has to bring a sin offering at the conclusion of the period of his Nezirut. Furthermore, the Torah states that if a Nazir became defiled to a dead body then, "The Kohen shall provide atonement for him...
Published: May 19, 2014
 Jerusalem – The Original D.C.  .: Viewed: 1562 times :.
Where does the name Yerushalayim come from? The answer is given by Tosfot in Tractate Taanit, 16 who state that the name Yerushalayim is a combination of two words, one uttered by Avraham at the Akeda (Bereshis 22), "Har Hashem Yeiraeh", which means "The mountain where G-d will be seen", and the city was already called Shalem, (peace), by Malkitzedek (Bereshis 14). Thus, the city of...
Published: May 12, 2014
 Ruth & Reincarnation: Climbing the Soul Ladder  .: Viewed: 2292 times :.
The Ramban states that the Book of Ruth teaches the doctrine of Reincarnation (Gilgul Neshamot) by exposition of the following verses. "Boaz married Ruth… and she gave birth to a son." (Ruth 4:13). Then in Ruth 4:17 it says, "A son is born to Naomi." The Ramban explains that this verse is not a TYPO. The verse reveals that Ruth's child was in fact the Reincarnated soul of Naomi's...
Published: April 30, 2014
 What Is Holy About The Flag of Israel?  .: Viewed: 2396 times :.
Does the Israeli Flag have Kedusha? Rov Yoseph Dov Soloveitchik reveals in the book, “Nefesh Harov”, that there is a passage in the Shulchan Aruch that relates to the sanctity of the flag of the state of Israel. The Shulchan Aruch in (Y.D. 352) rules “that one may not bury the deceased in expensive shrouds.” Later in Y.D, 364, it is ruled “If a Jew is found...
Published: April 23, 2014
 Sefirat Ha'Omer: Count Up To Eternity  .: Viewed: 1902 times :.
Rabbi S.R. Hirsch explains that Sefirat Ha'Omer connects the physical freedom of Pesach with the spiritual freedom of Shavuot. To be physically free and not to know what to do with one's life is not true freedom. One is still a slave to his Evil Inclination. That is why Shavuot is called Atzeret (climax) of Pesach, because on Shavuot we received the Torah, which was the aim and purpose of the...
Published: April 23, 2014
 Egyptian Slavery – Basic Training for Sovereignty  .: Viewed: 2290 times :.
Before G-d chose us as a nation that would receive the Torah and Eretz Yisrael, and fulfill the eternal role of being a light unto the nations, first we had to be oppressed and enslaved in Egypt. Why? During "the Brit bein Habetarim" (the Covenant between the Parts), G-d promised Avraham that he would be the father of a great nation that would carry an eternal message for the entire world....
Published: March 19, 2014
 The Agony of the Agunah  .: Viewed: 2067 times :.
I recently attended the International Agunah Day Event in Jerusalem. An Agunah (literally a chained wife) is one whose husband deserts her and refuses to give her a Get, thus preventing her from remarrying. The leading Rabbis in every generation have tried to find solutions, even far-fetched ones, for the distress of Agunot. Rabbi Akiva Eiger helped to release an Agunah with the explanation...
Published: March 19, 2014
 An Educational Magic Moment Lost  .: Viewed: 3044 times :.
The recent prayer rally in Jerusalem was one of the largest gatherings of Jews praying since the Mount Sinai revelation where over 600,000 Jews came together in prayer and supplication. There was even a special blessing recited for a gathering of 600,000 Jews. This was a golden opportunity for the Chareidi public to communicate directly with their secular brethren, allay their fears, and...
Published: March 10, 2014
 Purim: A ReJEWvenation of the Torah  .: Viewed: 1883 times :.
לע"×  אמי מורתי רבקה בת יצחק ×–"ל לשלושים ימים לפטירתה On Purim, as on Chanukkah, we recite Al Hanisim. In this thanksgiving prayer, the stories of the miracles of both Festivals are related in a short and concise synopsis.  However, there is an obvious difference. In the Al Hanisim of Chanukkah there is a finale, "Afterwards your sons came to...
Published: March 6, 2014
 Removing God's Purim mask!  .: Viewed: 1903 times :.
Purim comes from the word "Pur", meaning lottery in Persian. This name comes from Megillat Esther: "...therefore, they called these days Purim, because of the lottery." The method in which Purim was given this name is different from the methods used in giving names to the other holidays. The names of all other holidays incorporate, in some respect, the miracle which took place on that holiday....
Published: February 26, 2014
 Esther: A Tikkun for Yosef and His Brothers!  .: Viewed: 3695 times :.
After Esther, a descendant of Binyamin, the son of Rochel Imenu, had saved herself and her family from Haman's decree of extermination, she returned to Achashveros, to plead that all of the Jews (Yehudim) be saved and protected from Haman's evil decree. While at this point in the Megillah (Ch. 8) Esther and her Binayminite clan are safe, she nevertheless risked her life again for the sake of...
Published: February 25, 2014
 The Broken Tablets: Never Again!  .: Viewed: 2117 times :.
After the sin of the Golden Calf, Moshe Rabbenu succeeded in convincing G-d to give the Jewish People a second chance by giving us a second set of Luchot (Tablets). What happened to the first set of Luchot that Moshe smashed to pieces? The Talmud Bavli tells us that Moshe collected all of the broken pieces of the first Luchot and placed them underneath the new Luchot in the Holy Ark. However,...
Published: January 30, 2014
 Tu B’Shevat, Human Beings, And Trees  .: Viewed: 2222 times :.
The source for Tu B’Shevat is the opening Mishnah of the Talmudic tractate Rosh Hashanah: “The Academy of Hillel taught that the 15th of Shevat is the New Year for the trees.” What does that mean, “New Year for the trees”? Tu B’Shevat is technically the day when trees stop absorbing water from the ground and instead draw nourishment from their sap. In...
Published: January 8, 2014
 Moshe – Born for Leadership  .: Viewed: 1897 times :.
Although born to a noble Levite family, the son of Amram and Yocheved, Moshe had an upbringing in his formative years in the palace of Pharaoh, the mightiest world power of his day. Despite the fact that all the firstborn Israelite males that were born during the same period as Moshe were ordred killed by being cast into the Nile, G-d, through Hashgachah Pratit (Divine Personal Intervention),...
Published: December 25, 2013
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