Tehillim 136, which Chazal call Hallel haGadol, has a long list of things Hashem did for us with the refrain “×›×™ ×œ×¢×•×œ× ×—×¡×“×• — for His Lovingkindness is eternal.” The first three call us to thank Hashem: הוֹד֣וּ לַה֣’ כִּי־ט֑וֹב ×›Ö¼Ö´Ö–×™ ×œÖ°×¢×•Ö¹×œÖ¸Ö£× ×—Ö·×¡Ö°×“Ö¼Ö½×•Ö¹×ƒ ×”Öוֹדוּ לֵֽ×לֹקֵ֣י ×”Ö¸×Ö±×œÖ¹×§Ö´Ö‘×™× ×›Ö¼Ö´Ö–×™ ×œÖ°×¢×•Ö¹×œÖ¸Ö£× ×—Ö·×¡Ö°×“Ö¼Ö½×•Ö¹×ƒ ×”Öוֹדוּ לַ×Ö²×“Ö¹× ÖµÖ£×™ ×”Ö¸×Ö²×“Ö¹× Ö´Ö‘×™× ×›Ö¼Ö´Ö–×™ ×œÖ°×¢Ö¹×œÖ¸Ö£× ×—Ö·×¡Ö°×“Ö¼Ö½×•Ö¹×ƒ Thank Hashem for He is...
Here are three thoughts related to the siman, the mnemonic practice, of eating an apple dipped in honey. (Aside from the ear-worm you or your kid learned in preschool that starts with the words in the post’s subject line.) 1- The original Bostoner Rebbe commented on the expression “Shanah tovah umsuqah – a good and sweet new yearâ€, which is...
I The name of the Sorites Paradox comes from the Greek word for heap, “soros”, a key word in the typical formulation. If someone had one million grains of sand, they would have a heap of sand. If we took away just one grain of sand, it would still be a heap. And similarly, the second grain. But what if...
I’m about to repeat two points by R’ Meir Simchah haKohein miDvinsk zt”l: 1- Yerushalayim is named for being the convergance of two principles: refined middos and perfected intellectual comprehension. 2- There is an old question, “Chazal say that Sheim and Eiver ran a yeshiva that Avraham, Yitzchaq and Yaaqov attended. But that far before the giving of the Torah,...