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 9, 2023 | Psalms, Fear of God, Holiness, Israel, Prayer, Purity, Temple
By Rabbi Avraham Norin The Ariel Center is a small museum, hidden within the winding alleyways of the Old City of Jerusalem. Out of all the incredible museums Jerusalem has to offer, this one has a special place in my heart. The museum’s focus is the First...
by Shira Schechter (Moderator) | f 3, 2022 | Psalms, Rosh Hashana, Faith, Elul, Holiness, Prayer, Purity, Repentance, Tests and Trials
By Adam Eliyahu Berkowitz I had the remarkable merit of learning in Yeshiva (school for Torah study) with Barya Shachter, now a truly inspirational leader of a spiritual community. He is the son of Rabbi Zalman Shachter-Shalomi, the dynamic founder of the Jewish...
by Shira Schechter (Moderator) | f 11, 2022 | Emor, Marriage and Relationships, Purity, Temple
Until the Exodus from Egypt, the patriarchs had an individual relationship with God, bringing sacrifices wherever and whenever they felt the calling. But when God brought the Children of Israel out of Egypt, what had been a clan, a loose conglomeration of individuals,...
by Shira Schechter (Moderator) | f 1, 2022 | Shabbat, Kedoshim, Holiness, Purity
Leviticus Chapter 19 begins with a deceptively simple commandment:Â You shall be holy, for I, Hashem your God, am holy. Leviticus 19:2 There has been much speculation about this verse. At first glance, the imperative seems impossible as it requires the nation of...
by Shira Schechter (Moderator) | f 26, 2022 | Antisemitism, Acharei Mot, Purity
In Leviticus, God prohibits Israel from eating blood in the strictest terms. This prohibition also includes hunting and eating from the carcass of a dead animal (Leviticus 17:10-16), and the punishment for one who violates this is karet. In fact, the prohibition...