Rosh Hashana
How Will We be Remembered?
By Elie Mischel Rabbi Israel Kagan, one of the great Eastern European Jewish leaders of the 20th century, was once cited as a character witness in a court case in Belarus. The defendant’s lawyer said that Rabbi Kagan, though not present...
The Dramatic Paradox of the Hebrew New Year
By Adam Eliyahu Berkowitz When I first started my journey toward “being religious”, I was concerned about the prayers on Rosh Hashana. During the rest of the year, we bow at the waist while reciting the Aleinu prayer. But on Rosh Hashana,...
Forget Your Past – For Now
By Elie Mischel Fifteen years ago, when I was working as a corporate attorney in New Jersey, I joined a volunteer program in which lawyers helped Holocaust survivors fill out incredibly long and detailed applications for Holocaust...
Three Things We Must Renew Daily
By Chaim Barzel We have all made New Year's resolutions: to eat healthier, to get to sleep earlier, to make up with an old friend, etc. That is because the new year is a time of renewal. A new year means the opportunity to start over, and...
The Month of Return
By Adam Eliyahu Berkowitz Anticipation and preparation are two words I have always had difficulty with. In Yeshiva (Jewish school for Torah learning), my rabbi called me "do-ish." I have a tendency to jump right in and figure things out...
The Biblical New Year
Establishing a calendar in Judaism requires a total reset from how time is marked on a secular calendar, realigning the days, weeks, months, and years according to Biblical principles. Days and weeks The days of the week are oriented...
Who is Gedalia and why do Jews fast for him?
Archaeologists in Israel uncovered evidence from nearly three thousand years ago, proving the existence of Gedaliah, a relatively minor character mentioned in the Bible, whose life is still commemorated till this very day by Jews every...
Jews are .2% of the world’s population, but don’t underestimate us
Like most Jews, I spent the last two days of Rosh Hashana in prayer. We heard the powerful blasts of the Shofar and recited Hebrew prayers that focused on coronating Hashem as King over the entire universe. However, I couldn’t stop...
The Portion of Pinchas
Our portion picks up where last week’s left off, in the aftermath of a plague. Phineas is blessed by God for his actions and a new census of the people is taken. The brotherless daughters of Zelophehad appeal to Moses for a share in the...
The Portion of Emor
The portion of Emor continues many of the same themes found thus far in the book of Leviticus. It expands upon the laws of the priest which set him apart from the rest of the community, as well as those that apply only to the High Priest....
