by Rabbi Chanan Morrison Rav Kook Torah The Midrash relates how the first letter of the Torah was selected. Before the world was created, the letters of the alphabet presented themselves before God. The letter Aleph then announced: I should be used to create the world, since I am the first letter in the alphabet. … Read more
Rabbi Pruzhansky Fourteen years ago today the clenched fist of Arab-Islamic terror smashed into the United States of America, murdering almost three thousand innocent souls, devastating lives, shaking America (at least temporarily) out of its complacency and nudging the American polity into several Middle Eastern wars. Those wars have not ended well; indeed, the situation … Read more
Rabbi Chanan Morisson The order of the shofar blasts on Rosh Hashanah may be understood as corresponding to major stages in the history of the universe. There are two basic types of shofar blasts: Tekiyah — one long, constant blast. Shevarim-teruah — several short blasts followed by numerous staccato blows. The shofar blasts are organized … Read more
Rabbi Chanan Morisson Tax reporting in the Torah? In a way, yes…. Twice every seven years, in the fourth and seventh years of the Sabbatical cycle, the Jewish farmer must testify that he correctly distributed tithes from his crops. He makes the following declaration, preferably in the Temple itself: “I have removed all the sacred … Read more
by Slovie Jungreis-Wolff Teaching kids to take pride in their heritage. Steven Spielberg spoke with the popular film website Movie pilot and opened up about his difficult childhood where he found himself constantly bullied. From an early age, Spielberg lived in fear of being looked at as different because he was Jewish. “It isn’t something … Read more
by Sara Debbie Gutfreund When you don’t know where to begin, start here. I’m standing at the edge of the boat with a heavy air tank on my back. The ocean glitters in the late afternoon sun like a mirror of fire. I thought I was ready, but now I’m not so sure. I learned … Read more
Rabbi Chanan Morisson Surprisingly, the Torah never spells out exactly where the Temple is to be built. Rather we are instructed to build the Beit HaMikdash “in the place that God will choose”: “Only to the place that the Eternal your God will choose from all your tribes to set His Name — there you … Read more
From Rabbi Nachman Kahana The root of our problems is our lack of Jewish pride based on our intimate relationship with the Creator. Every lowlife can grab the headlines by ranting against God’s chosen people – and we remain apathetic. The Historical Beginning of Anti-Semitism The opening of my writings (and of many others) are … Read more
