The Voice That Calls: Jewish Awakening in Our Time
Imagine being awakened at 4 AM by a voice calling you to something urgent, something that cannot wait for a more convenient hour. This is the essence of selichot – a voice that calls us from the comfortable darkness of spiritual slumber into the demanding light of self-examination and transformation. It is the voice that…
To Occupy or Not To Occupy Gaza
The morning of October 7, 2023, marked a watershed moment in the decades-long Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Hamas militants breached the Gaza-Israel…
The Miracle of Persistence: Lessons from a People Who Refuse to Disappear
In an age when entire civilizations have risen and fallen, when empires have crumbled to dust and languages have vanished…
The Modern Erev Rav: When Jewish Identity Becomes a Shield for Betrayal
At a time when Jewish unity, Ahavat Hinam vs. Sin’at Hinam (baseless love vs. baseless hatred), and acceptance of Klal…
Approaching encounters with curiosity and not with judgement
Teens across Israel and in Jewish communities throughout America participate in transformative encounters that shape their Jewish identity, their relationship…
I’m that kid that was wild, energetic, uninterested in school and just wanted to have fun. I’m that kid that wasn’t good in math or science, reading and writing. I’m that kid that preferred not raising his hand in class when I didn’t understand the material for fear of being labeled dumb, or having ADD,…
English Followed by the Hebrew ב”ה שבת תשובה, פרשת וילך תשפ“ב הימים האחרונים של משה רבנו הם מרגשים, ומעלים מחשבות לגבי המסע של כל אחד מאיתנו. משה מסביר לעם ישראל:”… בֶּן-מֵאָה וְעֶשְׂרִים שָׁנָה אָנֹכִי הַיּוֹם–לֹא-אוּכַל עוֹד לָצֵאת וְלָבוֹא; וַאלוקים אָמַר אֵלַי, לֹא תַעֲבֹר אֶת-הַיַּרְדֵּן הַזֶּה.” אף על פי זה שמשה הוביל את בני ישראל מעבדות…
English followed by the Hebrew: משפחה וחברים יקרים: אם חודש אלול חודש של סליחות, חודש של תקיעה בשופר יומית (במשנה ברורה: נוהגים לקום באשמורת לומר סליחות ותחנונים מראש חודש אלול ואילך עד יום הכיפורים – הגה: מנהג בני אשכנז אינו כן, מתחילין לתקוע בשופר מראש חודש ואילך) עובר עלינו תקופה של חשבון נפש והיתעוררות –…
The only biblical references to this period of these Days of Awe, beginning with Rosh HaShanna, we are about to enter is found in Leviticus/VaYikra 23:23, “Speak to the people of Israel, saying, In the seventh month, in the first day of the month, shall you have a sabbath, a memorial of blowing of horns,…
The Hamas rocket assault is bad for Palestinians and Israelis alike TEL AVIV — When it started, we heard the children’s school was going virtual again that day. Coronavirus again? No, rockets — 250 had been fired into Israel from Gaza overnight. By that evening, we were in the bomb shelter, as rockets were flying to Tel Aviv.…
We continue to commit such a disservice to our youth, putting them on the frontline to fight for our right to exist, carrying the weight of 2,000 years of exile, when they themselves don’t even know the aleph-bet of their own existence – let alone – Israel’s. Why should a teenager on their way to…