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 Megillat Esther : Today's Front Page .: Viewed: 2566 times :.
The Rambam states in Hilchos Megillah, Chapter 2, Halacha 18, that all books of the Prophets and all of the Holy Writings will be cancelled in the Messianic Era except for Megillat Esther, which will exist forever like the Torah and the Talmud.
What makes the Megillah so unique that it will be preserved for eternity, unlike other Books of the Tanach? The answer is found in the Megillat...
Published: February 21, 2012 |
How To Find The Lost Keys of the Holy Temple .: Viewed: 2561 times :.
Four days a year Jews fast and mourn, commemorating different historical events of the destruction of the Holy Temple. The 17th day of Tammuz is one of the four days, and it begins a three week period of limited mourning that climaxes with Tisha B'Av, the day of the destruction of the bothTemples. These four days of fasting are found in the prophet Zechariah. Consistent with Judaism's...
Published: July 20, 2011 |
Shabbat – A Portal to a Perfect World .: Viewed: 2556 times :.
The Talmud (Shabbat 154) states,"Torah scholars grow wiser as they grow older, but boors become more foolish as they age." We all see the same world, but how we interpret the events that we see varies greatly. King Solomon says (Mishlei 2:14), "The eyes of a wise person are in his head." How shall this verse be understood? Aren't everyone's eyes in one's head? The explanation is that the head...
Published: July 4, 2013 |
Arab Terror: An Ongoing Tisha B'Av .: Viewed: 2519 times :.
The Shin Bet has just informed us that Arab terror attacks are up 50% from last year. The Moslem fast days of Ramadan, which began on June 17, have coincided with a surge of murderous terror attacks against Jews.
The moving Kinah of "ARZEI HALEVANON", which is recited on TIsha B'Av states, "The martyred Jews were filled with good deeds like the seeds of a pomegranate and like the corners of...
Published: July 2, 2015 |
The Rise and Fall of the Angels .: Viewed: 2517 times :.
“ Yaakov had a dream: a ladder was set on the ground and its top reached up toward heaven, and angels of G-d were going up and down on it.” (Bereshit: 28:1)
What is the meaning of this heavenly ladder? The ladder that was standing on the ground showed Yaakov that we must use the physical world as a ladder with which to elevate ourselves by serving G-d. Through our service of...
Published: November 12, 2012 |
The Song of the Sea's Euphoria turns Bitter .: Viewed: 2516 times :.
After Shirat Hayam, the Song of the Sea praising G-d (Exod. 15:1-18) has been sung, the nation – and the reader – are in a state of euphoria; thus, neither the nation nor the reader is prepared for the series of failures that Israel encounters in the second half of Parashat Beshalach: "And Moses led Israel onward from the Red Sea, and they went out into the wilderness of Shur; and...
Published: May 24, 2011 |
Shavuot: In G-d We Trust! .: Viewed: 2510 times :.
The Talmud (Shabbat) states that an apostate said to Rava, "You are an impetuous people for you put your mouths before your ears!"
Our mouths before our ears?!! What the apostate referred to was "Naaseh v' Nishma", the famous phrase uttered by the Jewish People when we stood at the foot of Mount Sinai and G-d asked us if we would accept the Torah. "We will do, and then we will hear," we...
Published: April 18, 2013 |
The Helpmate Who Opposes! .: Viewed: 2502 times :.
God said, “It is not good for man to be alone. I will make for him a helpmate who is against him.” (Genesis:2:18) Â At first sight this verse seems to be a paradox: a helpmate assists, she does not oppose. The Talmud (Bavli Yevamot 63a) phrases the question as follows. The Hebrew word, Ezer, is a “helper”, and K’negdo is “against him”?! The Talmud...
Published: September 27, 2011 |
Rosh Chodesh: Symbol of Israel's Miraculous Renewal .: Viewed: 2495 times :.
Why is Rosh Chodesh the first Mitzvah given to Israel while still in Egypt? Why is Parshat Hachodesh so important that it precedes the Giving of the Torah at Mount Sinai? Why do we say Hallel on Rosh Chodesh as Hallel is said to commemorate a miraculous event such as the Exodus? What miracle takes place on Rosh Chodesh that warrants saying Hallel?  The Zohar, in explaining the importance...
Published: January 19, 2012 |
Why Yizkor on Yom Tov? .: Viewed: 2485 times :.
On each of the last days of the Shalosh Regalim, it is traditional that the Yizkor service be recited. Even those who, for one reason or another, have not been in regular attendance at the Synagogue, gravitate to it at this time. There is a feeling of responsibility and respect for our departed parents which impels us to participate in this service.
It seems strange and paradoxical that...
Published: May 24, 2011 |
The Mystery of the Red Heifer .: Viewed: 2485 times :.
The laws concerning the Red Heifer have always been regarded as the most mysterious of the Torah's Mitzvot. Although this Mitzva has always been considered to be above human reason, attempts have nevertheless been made to interpret it.
The Midrash states that the reason why a heifer is chosen is that it should atone for Israel's sin in worshipping the golden calf. Let the mother cow clean...
Published: May 24, 2011 |
PurimÂ’s Timely Message: Taking Pride in Judaism .: Viewed: 2483 times :.
Why does the Megila say "a Jewish man was in the capital of Shushan and his name was Mordechai," when there were many Jewish people who lived in Shushan? The sages explain that many Jews fled Shushan out of fear of Haman; Mordechai was one of the few who did not. Rav Yonasan Eybeshitz disagrees with this interpretation, because later on in the Megila, Esther instructs Mordechai to "go and...
Published: March 11, 2012 |
Reflections on Yom Haatzmauit .: Viewed: 2479 times :.
A major difference between a slave people and a free people is that a free people has not only the ability but also the duty to defend itself. This is a theme that runs throughout the Torah and indeed the entire Bible. In the story of the Exodus, the struggle to free the Israelites is conducted entirely by G-D through miracles that are presented by His spokesmen, Moses and Aaron. The people...
Published: May 24, 2011 |
Israel's Long And Winding Road .: Viewed: 2468 times :.
Moshe wrote their goings forth, stage by stage, at the commandment of G-d. (Numbers 33:2) This sidra opens with a list of the forty-two places where the Israelites encamped during their forty years of wandering in the wilderness. Forty verses record nothing more than the names of places where the people encamped and from which they journeyed. To highlight the fact that these verses recall...
Published: July 25, 2011 |
How to Become Holy! .: Viewed: 2466 times :.
“Speak to the Children of Israel and say to them: You shall be holy for I, Hashem your G-d, am holy” (Vayikra 19:2). Rashi comments on this verse that being holy means to separate your self from sexual immorality. But that is just the starting point of attaining a state of being holy.
In the non-Jewish world, to sanctify one's self, or to be holy, means to cut yourself off from...
Published: April 2, 2013 |