The Miracle of Freedom
“…Who redeemed us and redeemed our ancestors from Egypt…” (The Haggadah) אֲשֶׁר גְּאָלָנוּ וְגָאַל אֶת אֲבוֹתֵינוּ מִמִּצְרַיִם – הגדה של פסח The Torah instructs us to relate to our children in every generation that, “G-d acted on my behalf when I went out of Egypt” (Shemos 13:8). This indicates that our freedom today is not only the result of G-d’s redemption of our ancestors; […]
Why is the Wicked Son at the Seder?
“…The wicked one, what does he say? “What is this worship to you?” …Say to him: “It is for this that G-d did for me when I left Egypt;” i.e., ‘for me,’ but not for him. If he had been there, he would not have been redeemed…” (The Haggadah) רָשָׁע מָה הוּא אוֹמֵר? מָה הָעֲבוֹדָה הַזּאֹת לָכֶם..וֶאֱמוֹר לוֹ בַּעֲבוּר זֶה […]
The Two-Headed Year
“…This month shall be to you the head of the months; to you it shall be the first of the months of the year…” – Shemos 12:2 הַחֹדֶשׁ הַזֶּה לָכֶם רֹאשׁ חֳדָשִׁים רִאשׁוֹן הוּא לָכֶם לְחָדְשֵׁי הַשָּׁנָה – שמות יב, ב The Jewish calendar year has two starting points. Rosh Hashana, on the 1st of Tishrei, marks the start of […]
A Reason to Celebrate – The month of Adar
“…From when Adar arrives, joy is increased…” – Talmud, Taanis 29a משנכנס אדר מרבין בשמחה – תענית כט,א The month of Adar is a season of joy and good fortune. For this reason, our Sages taught that if one has a court case against a gentile, he should try to schedule the trial for the month of Adar, as the […]
Chanuka – Fighting klipat Noga
As we celebrate Chanukah we often wonder what is this holiday about and why are we lighting candles to celebrate this holiday. Must be something deeper than what we think…. Fascinating class with Rabbi Anava that reveals what we were missing Powerful Tikon at the end of the video Duration of class: 1:07:34
Simchat Torah: The Festival of Ingathering the Torah
We call the last day of the festival Simchat Torah, because we rejoice and eat a festive meal to honor the completion of the Torah (Rem”a, Orach Chaim 669:1) וקורין יום טוב האחרון שמחת תורה, לפי ששמחין ועושין בו סעודת משתה לגמרה של תורה – רמ”א אורח חיים תרס”ט, א The second Luchot were given to Moshe on Yom Kippur, after […]
Happy Feet
יונה בן אמיתי מעולי רגלים היה ונכנס לשמחת בית השואבה ושרת עליו רוח הקודש ללמדך שאין רוח הקדש שורה אלא על לב שמח – תלמוד ירושלמי, סוכה ה:א The Talmud states that Yonah’s prophecy was inspired by the joy of Simchas Beis Hasho’eva that he witnessed as anoleh regel. What is the significance of the fact that Yonah was an oleh regel, […]
Celebrating the Torah Sheba’al Peh (Oral Torah)
“….He who has not witnessed the rejoicing at the water drawing, has witnessed NO real rejoicing in his entire life……” (Mishna, Sukkah 5:1) ״אמרו, כל מי שלא ראה שמחת בית השואבה, לא ראה שמחה מימיו. – משנה, סוכה ה,א The Talmud (Sukkah 48b) quotes the prophetic words of Yeshayahu (12:3), ושאבתם מים בששון ממעיני הישועה – And you will draw water […]
The Sukkah Man
“…The festival of Sukkot you shall make for yourself for seven days…” – Devarim 16:13 חַג הַסֻּכֹּת תַּעֲשֶׂה לְךָ שִׁבְעַת יָמִים – דברים טז, יג Several unique mitzvot are associated with the holiday of Sukkot, yet among them, the Torah calls the holiday Sukkot, naming it specifically for the obligation to dwell in a Sukkah for the duration of these seven days. This […]
Your Sukkah, Your Life
“….You shall make yourself the festival of Sukkot for seven days…..” – Devarim 16:13 ״…..חג סוכות תעשה לך שבעת ימים….״ – דברים טז,יג Several unique mitzvos are observed during the holiday of Sukkos. Yet, the holiday is called Sukkos, named specifically for the obligation to dwell in a Sukkah during these seven days, and not for any other of this […]
It’s Only Temporary
“…..In Sukkahs you shall dwell for seven days…..”- Vayikra 23:42 The Torah commands, “For all seven days, leave your permanent dwelling and dwell in a temporary dwelling” – Talmud: Sukkah 2A ״…..בסוכות תשבו שבעת ימים, אמרה תורה כל שבעת הימים צא מדירת קבע ושב בדירת עראי” – מסכת סוכה ב,ב In a certain sense, the mitzvah of Sukkah has the distinction […]
Keep Your Distance
“… This is the rule: Anything that is susceptible to Tum’ah, ritual impurity, or does not grow from the ground, may not be used for S’chach. But whatever is not susceptible to Tum’ah and grows from the grown may be used as Schach…” (Mishna, Sukkah 1:4) ״….זה הכלל, כל שהוא מקבל טומאה ואין גדולו מן הארץ, אין מסככין בו. וכל […]
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