Keeping values and meaning in focus.
When the Jews reached the Red Sea and saw the Mitzriyim catching up, “וַיִּֽירְ×וּ֙ מְ×ֹ֔ד וַיִּצְעֲק֥וּ ×‘Ö°× ÖµÖ½×™Ö¾×™Ö´×©×‚Ö°×¨Ö¸×ֵ֖ל ×ֶל־ה’ — they became very fearful, and the Benei Yisrael cried out to Hashem.” (Shemos 14:10) Rashi,...
The question I started with was wondering about the first two paragraphs of Shema. (Which is what Arukh haShulchan Yomi is up to.) The first paragraph is an exercise of accepting ol Malkhus Shamayim,...
There are tefillos including Qaddish, Qedushah, Borkhu, that are labeled a “Davar sheBiqdushah“, literally: “a matter that is in holiness”. The way we usually study the halakhah, it is said that a minyan is...
The following is a post I wrote for the Judaism Reclaimed Facebook page, a space that in general discusses Judaism Reclaimed: Philosophy and Theology in the Torah, by R’ Shmuel Phillips (Mosaica 2019). The...
The Parent I believe that the efficacy of prayer is in the relationship built by turning to one’s Parent in times of trouble. One may indeed get what one prayed for, in some circumstances,...
תפילה לזכות ל×ור ול×הבה רבי ×לימלך מליז’×¢× ×¡×§ A Prayer to Merit Light and Love by Rabbi Elimelech of Lizhensk (1717-1787, one of the early rebbes of the Chassidic movement) This prayer, written by the...
Reciting Shema on Yom Kippur is unique in that we say the second line, “בָּרוּךְ שֵ×× ×›Ö°Ö¼×‘×•Ö¹×“ מַלְכוּתוֹ ×œÖ°×¢×•Ö¹×œÖ¸× ×•Ö¸×¢Ö¶×“ — Blessed is the name of the Glory of His Rule for all eternity.”...
×מר רבי יהודה ×ž×©×•× ×¨×‘×™ ×¢×§×™×‘× … ×מר הקדוש ברוך הו×: … ו×מרו ×œ×¤× ×™ בר×ש ×”×©× ×” מלכיות ×–×›×¨×•× ×•×ª ושופרות. מלכיות: כדי ×©×ª×ž×œ×™×›×•× ×™ עליכ×. ×–×›×¨×•× ×•×ª: כדי שיעלה ×–×›×¨×•× ×™×›× ×œ×¤× ×™ לטובה. ובמה? בשופר. Rabbi Yehudah said...
The Arukh haShulchan (OC 56:1,3) discusses the meaning of the opening words of Qaddish “Yisgadel veyisqadeish shemeih rabba“. Praying that Hashem’s Great Name be made great and holy. And since a name is how...
You may have heard the Baal Shem Tov’s thought that the close of the first berakhah before Shema in the morning, “Yotzeir haMe’oros – Who Creates the [Celestial] Lights.” He says that it is...
Shoaib asked on Mi Yodeya: In the Shema the word used for the oneness of God is ×חָד (ref.). This is startling for a Muslim, as they find in the Quran almost a transliteration...
In this second shiur on Vayechi, we look at Meshech Chokhmah on Bereishis 48:22. My sword and my bow – tzelos’hi uva’ushi – tefilah vesachanunim — siddur prayer and personal requests. There are two...
כמה ישהה בין תפלה לתפלה? רב ×”×•× × ×•×¨×‘ חסד×. חד ×מר: כדי ×©×ª×ª×—×•× ×Ÿ דעתו עליו. וחד ×מר: כדי שתתחולל דעתו עליו. [Minimally,] how long must one wait between [one] prayer to [another] prayer? Rav...
(Updated again for 2009, 2013 and now in 2016.) One line in Ma’oz Tzur I particularly love. The 5th verse of Ma’oz Tzur describes the Chanukah story. One phrase in this verse is “ufortzu...
(Embellished with thoughts from my daughter Noa’s recent bas mitzvah speech. Yay, Noa!) If you think about it, charoses is quite strange. On the one hand, as we learn in preschool and the Rambam writes,...
This was a webinar given for The Mussar Institute on 10-Mar-2014. Class 2 of 2, continued from part 1. Audio only version is available here.
This was a webinar given for The Mussar Institute on 3-Mar-2014. Class 1 of 2. (Part 2 is here.) The format is more introducing and practicing tools for kavanah than a class in the...
×מר רבי יהודה ×ž×©×•× ×¨×‘×™ ×¢×§×™×‘× â€¦ ×מר הקדוש ברוך הו×: … ו×מרו ×œ×¤× ×™ בר×ש ×”×©× ×” מלכיות ×–×›×¨×•× ×•×ª ושופרות. מלכיות: כדי ×©×ª×ž×œ×™×›×•× ×™ עליכ×. ×–×›×¨×•× ×•×ª: כדי שיעלה ×–×›×¨×•× ×™×›× ×œ×¤× ×™ לטובה. ובמה? בשופר. Rabbi Yehudah said...
AishDas’s motto is lifted from the motto of HaOlim, founded by Dr. Nathan Birnbaum which existed from the 1910s through the 1930s, ending with the decimation of European Jewry. “Da’as, Rachamim, Tif’eres” — Knowledge...
There were two lines from the Shemoneh Esrei of Rosh haShanah that particularly spoke to me this year — “mekhalkeil chaim bechesed – Who sustains the living with lovingkindness”, and the line from Unsaneh...
צריך שיהיו תפילין עליו בשעת ק”ש ותפלה. A man must have tefillin on at the time of reading Shema and prayer [Shemoneh Esrei]. – Shulchan Arukh, Orach Chayim 25:4 בשעת ק”ש ותפלה: ר”ל לכל...
“Aspaqlaria: Aseres Yemei Teshuvah” (49 pages) is a collection of essays adapted from those that appeared here on the subjects of teshuvah, shofar, vidui, and the Aseres Yemei Teshuvah. It is in Adobe Acrobat...
י״ט באלול תשפ״א – Fri, Aug 27, 2021
כ״ו באב תשפ״א – Tue, Aug 3, 2021
י׳ באב תשפ״א – Sun, Jul 18, 2021
The Source that a Reshus haRabbim Requires 600,000 People
י״ב בתמוז תשפ״א – Mon, Jun 21, 2021
The King’s Highway, A Metaphor
י״א בתמוז תשפ״א – Sun, Jun 20, 2021
Emunah Peshutah vs Machashavah
י״ז בכסלו תשס״ה – Tue, Nov 30, 2004
Balancing Simplicity and Authenticity
כ׳ בתמוז תש״ע – Thu, Jul 1, 2010
י׳ באדר א׳ תשע״ד – Sun, Feb 9, 2014
י״א בטבת תשס״ה – Wed, Dec 22, 2004
When Science and Torah Conflict
ט״ו בטבת תשע״א – Tue, Dec 21, 2010
