The Journey of the Soul Shalom, This Shabbat, Yom Kippur – יום כיפור the Day of Atonement, during the Minha prayer we will read from the book of Jonah – ספר יונה. Here is the story of the prophet Jonah in a nutshell. The prophet Jonah is commissioned by G-d to warn godless people of Nineveh. But […]
Chromosomes of the Creation Shalom, Yesterday we celebrated the opening of our new Jerusalem branch location in the Baq’a neighborhood and had a housewarming ‘Chanukat Bayit’ – חנוכת בית ceremony in our gorgeous offices here, which were designed by Sarit Harel. https://www.facebook.com/sarithareldesign/ Orly and I were so happy to meet and welcome many of our students, friends, new […]
Questioning the Orders Shalom, This Shabbat we will be reading Torah portion “Ki Tavo” in the book of Deuteronomy – Devarim. This Torah portion includes the laws of the tithes given to the Levites and to the poor, and detailed instructions on how to proclaim the blessings and the curses on Mount Gerizim and Mount Eival. After listing the blessings […]
Concealed Blessing Shalom, This Shabbat we will be reading the portion “R’eh” of the fifth book of Torah – Devarim – דברים (words). Moses tells the people of Israel, “See, I place before you today a blessing and a curse. The blessing that will come when they fulfill G‑d’s commandments, and the curse if they abandon them. Let’s look closely at the opening verse. […]
Wording One’s Lifetime Shalom, This Shabbat we will be reading the third portion “Ekev” of the fifth book of Torah – Devarim – דברים (words). Rabbi of Mishkoletz explains a verse in this week’s Torah portion: כִּי לֹא עַל-הַלֶּחֶם לְבַדּוֹ יִחְיֶה הָאָדָם–כִּי עַל-כָּל-מוֹצָא פִי-יְהוָה, יִחְיֶה הָאָדָם “…Not on bread alone does man live but by every word that issues […]
Leadership Lessons Shalom, This Shabbat we will be reading the first portion of the fifth book of Torah – Devarim – דברים (words). This book is also called משנה תורה ‘MISHNEH TORAH’ – ‘Repetition of Torah‘. It is called so, because in this book Moses appeals to People of Israel with the review (repetition) of the events that occurred and the laws that were […]
Mayday or Main Day? Shalom, We are now going through the 21 days of what is called in Hebrew “Yamey Bein HaMetzarim” – ימי בין המצרים Days of Distress. These 21 days refer to the period of time that passed between the breaking through the wall of Jerusalem on the 17th of the month of Tamuz […]
A Fragile Peace Shalom, This Shabbat we will read from the Torah portion ‘Pinchas’. Parts of this Torah portion are frequently read on Rosh Chodesh – ראש חודש (New Moon) and various holidays, because it concludes with a detailed list of the daily offerings, and the additional offerings brought on Shabbat, The first of the month and the festivals of Passover, Shavuot, Rosh […]
CURSE BECOMING A BLESSING Shalom, This Shabbat we will read from the Torah portion ‘Balak’. This portion tells us about Balak, the king of Moab, who invites Balaam the prophet to curse the people of Israel. Balaam asks G-d whether he should go. Initially G-d prohibits Balaam from going to Balak, but when Balaam asks for the second time, […]
The Origins of the Name Yerushalayim Shalom from Ulpan-Or, Next week Wednesday, May 24th we will celebrate “Yom Yerushalayim” – The Jerusalem Day. Yom Yerushalayim, commemorates Jerusalem’s reunification in 1967. This day begins on 28th day of the month of Iyyar in the Hebrew calendar. This year it is a special one commemorating the 50th year of the reunification of Jerusalem. Jerusalem has always […]