by Shira Schechter (Moderator) | f 28, 2023 | Judges, Faith, God, Prayer, Redemption
By Rabbi Elie Mischel Dr. Antoine Deliege, the Chief of Child Protection at UNICEF Tunisia, writes that the most gut-wrenching sound he has ever heard is silence in an orphanage. “I have always been struck when I walked in the babies’ room by the silence that reigns...
by Shira Schechter (Moderator) | f 16, 2023 | Rosh Hashana, God, Israel, Messiah, Prayer, Purity, Redemption, Repentance
By Adam Eliyahu Berkowitz Some memories stay with you forever. My yeshiva taught Breslov Hassidut and most of the students went to Uman, Ukraine to spend Rosh Hashana, the Jewish New Year, praying at the burial site of Rabbi Nachman of Breslov. Around 30,000 Jewish...
by Shira Schechter (Moderator) | f 15, 2023 | Judges, God, Israel
By Rabbi Elie Mischel Initially scorned by his brothers, Jephthah was appointed as the leader of Israel at a moment of crisis. When the evil Ammonites invaded the land of Gilead, Jephthah’s brothers begged him to lead them in battle against the enemy. Jephthah...
by Shira Schechter (Moderator) | f 7, 2023 | Psalms, Faith, God, Israel, Miracles, Tests and Trials
By Adam Eliyahu Berkowitz King David started life as a shepherd but he came from a military family. I imagine his brothers coming home on leave, sitting at the dinner table, telling war stories to their red-headed little brother. Of course, David’s rise to the throne...
by Shira Schechter (Moderator) | f 12, 2023 | Psalms, God, Holiness
By Adam Eliyahu Berkowitz In 1991, I moved to Israel and my journey back to God began. I was, what they call in Jewish circles, a baal teshuva (master of return). I moved to Sde Eliyahu, a religious kibbutz, and due to the hot climate of the Jordan Valley and the...
by Shira Schechter (Moderator) | f 10, 2023 | Shemot, Fear of God, God, Humility, Justice, Kindness and Compassion, Leadership
By Adam Eliyahu Berkowitz “You’re a lot shorter in person than I expected.” That is the phrase that actors hear most often. It is the flip side of the “larger than life” perception of famous people. Science fiction stories about time machines always portray the...