To the Letter… Shalom, This Shabbat we will read the Torah Portion “Yitro” in the book of Exodus. In this portion the Torah tells us that on the sixth day of the third month (Sivan), seven weeks after the Exodus, the entire nation of Israel – 600,000 people, assembles in the Sinai Desert at […]
The Inner Power of Aleph Shalom, This Shabbat we will read Torah portion “Bo” – בא in the book of Exodus. This Torah portion describes the three last plagues (out of ten) brought on Egypt. Several commentators indicate that the hint to these last three plagues is contained […]
Gift or Inheritance? Shalom, This Shabbat we will read Torah portion “Va’eirah” in the book of Exodus. In this Torah portion the message of redemption is conveyed from God to Moses and is concluded with the following promise: וְנָתַתִּי אֹתָהּ לָכֶם מוֹרָשָׁה, אֲנִי יְהוָה […]
Nameless “Names” Shalom, This Shabbat we will start reading the book of Exodus, called in Hebrew שמות, which means “Names”. And the first portion in this book is also called “Names” – שמות. Speaking of names, we are faced with a puzzling phenomenon in this […]
Future vs. Past Shalom, This Shabbat we will read the Torah Portion “Va’Yehi“, which concludes the book of Genesis. This Torah portion contains the famous blessing bestowed by Jacob on his grandchildren, which has been used over generations as a blessing of father to his sons. […]
A Paradigm Shift Shalom, This Shabbat we will read the Torah Portion “Va’Yigash” in the book of Genesis. In the previous Torah portion Yosef has accused Binyamin of stealing. He has threatened to imprison Binyamin. As this Torah portion opens, Yehuda intervenes with Yosef on Binyamin’s […]
The GULAG Menorah Shalom, This time we would like to share with you a story of devotion and courage lighting the Chanukah Menorah in a Soviet GULAG. GULAG – an acronym from Russian “Glavnoe Upravlenie ispravitel’no-trudovykh LAGerei – “Chief Administration of Corrective Labor Camps”. Between the years […]
Golden Friday? Shalom, These days significant part of the Western world is immersed in a shopping spree due to the “Black Friday” phenomenon. Actually, the phrase Black Friday originated from accounting terms, meaning going to “Black” (which means positive – profit) from “Red” (which means negative – loss). […]
Reviving Connection of Body & Soul This Shabbat we will read the Torah Portion VaYetze in the book of Genesis. In this Torah portion, on his way to find a bride for himself, Jacob has a dream in which angels go up and down a ladder connecting earth to heaven. […]
Micro vs. Macro Shalom, This Shabbat we will read the Torah Portion “Toldot” in the book of Genesis. The big tension between the two twin brothers Jacob – יעקב and Esau is unfolded here. The name Yaakov contains within it the word “eikev” (heel) – עקב Jacob is born holding on to […]