Why do we blow the Shofar when we are sitting – before Mussaf – the Additional Prayer – and when we are standing during Mussaf? We do so in order to confuse Satan who will be overwhelmed by our love of and devotion to this...
“When my soul fainted within me, I remembered (zacharti) God. My prayer came to You in Your Holy Sanctuary.” (Jonah 2:8) The Midrash (Shocher Tov 62) on the verse “Every breath shall praise the Lord,” (Psalm 150:6) teaches that with every breath the soul attempts to...
In “The Glass Tower,” a short story by the Cuban writer, Reinaldo Arenas, he tells the tale of Alfredo Fuentes, who, as a successful author, is so busy accepting speaking arrangements that he has no time to write. He is haunted by the characters he...
Our Father, Our King, fill our hands from Your blessings. Our Father, Our King, fill our storehouses with abundance. Nan-in, a Japanese Zen master during the Mejii era (1868-1912), received a university professor who came to inquire about Zen. Nan-in served tea. He poured his visitor’s cup full,...
Towards the conclusion of “The Garden of the Finzi-Continis,” Giorgio returns home late at night and has a powerful conversation with his father. Giorgio is in love with Micol and must face the fact that there is no future for their relationship. His father says,...
Thich Nhat Hanh, in “The Miracle of Mindfulness,” recommends that we take eight minutes to eat an orange. Take two minutes to eat a raisin. Really. Two minutes. He maintains that only then can we really taste its essence, see the universe it contains. Most of...
Continued from an unedited transcript of a shiur: Mrs Naaman goes to her husband, she says, sweetheart, I love you, you support me well, you are a wonderful husband, you are macho, you are big, you are tough, but you know, its kind of gross...
From an unedited transcript of a shiur: We have a story of, at least, Naaman, definitely the king of Aram, Naaman’s wife, they send out raiding parties and this world power with all its raiding parties captures only one girl. So, they have work for...
This picture was taken on September 16, 1941 at Vinnitza, Ukraine and was found in the personal file of a German Einsatzgruppen soldier. On the back of the picture he had noted, “This is the last Jew of Vinnitza”. 28,000 Jews from the city and surrounding...
“My old friend! How are you? Have a seat!” “Are you happy to see me?” “Definitely not! But our friendship is long, familiar and comfortable.” My friend was nonplussed. He certainly did not expect such a greeting. We both know that he only pretends to...
“God is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear.” (Psalm 27:1) “She (Yocheved) saw that he (Moshe) was good” (Exodus 2:2) It has been taught in a Baraita: Rabbi Meir says “Tov” – Good – was Moshe’s original name. The Sages say that when...
A man traveling across a field encountered a hungry tiger. He fled, the tiger after him. Coming to a precipice, he caught hold of the root of a wild vine and swung himself down over the edge. The tiger sniffed at him from above. Trembling,...
We have already determined that Tikkun does not only mean to fix. (See Tikkunim II) There are yet more definitions of Tikkun in the Talmud: “R. Hanina Hoza'ah (of Hozae, Khuzistan) laid down: It is a legal presumption that a Chaver would not allow any unprepared...
