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What's Your Purpose

Purpose driven action was introduced in the previous Music of Halacha essay. We posited that the laws of Shabbat define Action of Intention for everything we do, not only on Shabbat, but for the entire week. One of the three most important ingredients is purpose....

Tags: Halacha, Jewish Thought, Music of Halacha, Purpose of Creation, Shabbat

Forms of Prayer: Conversation 7

I was recently asked to include the name of a woman who was hit by a car in my prayers. Because someone had recently asked whether prayers for a total stranger are effective, I asked the person to tell me

The Music of Halacha: Shabbat 24: 3 Degrees of Separation Part 3

We live with a different awareness on Shabbat than we do during the week because Shabbat has a special spiritual reality. According to the Midrash and Kabbalah – Jewish Mysticism – our souls are different

Tags: Free will, Music of Halacha, Shabbat

Consciousness, Intention and Purpose

There are many masterful works on the philosophy of the Shabbat. However, there are few that approach the Laws of Shabbat from a conceptual and philosophical perspective. (Horeb, by Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch is an important exception.) I hope, that with God’s help, I will...

Tags: Mitzvot & their effect, Music of Halacha, Shabbat

Forms of Prayer: Conversation 6

Hannah Geiss asked: Every morning in my school, we say Perek (Chapter) 20 of Tehillim (Psalms) and then go through a list of about 50 names of wounded soldiers and sick people to ask for their refuah (healing). Do you think it is effective

The Music of Halacha: Shabbat 23: Three Degrees of Separation: The Second Degree

We all experience degrees of separation. A parent must be consistent but each child needs individualized attention. A successful and mindful teacher will not interact the same with each student, yet cannot separate one student from the others.

Tags: Free will, Music of Halacha, Shabbat

Midot Hayom: Day 35: Malchut in Hod

Wednesday evening, May 13: Rabbi Shimon ben Elazar says: If you sit still, how can you make peace between people? Actively strive for peace in Israel, as it says, “Seek peace and pursue it.” Start by making peace in your hometown,

Midot Hayom: Day 35: Malchut in Hod

Wednesday evening, May 13: Rabbi Shimon ben Elazar says: If you sit still, how can you make peace between people? Actively strive for peace in Israel, as it says, “Seek peace and pursue it.” Start by making peace in your hometown,

The Music of Halacha: Shabbat 22: 3 Degrees of Separation I

We continue our study of the laws of Selection on Shabbat. We have focused on the application of these laws to choices and decisions. We can now expand the application of these ideas to behavioral patterns as well. There are also different categories

The Music of Halacha: Shabbat 21: Forks & Knives

We have already explained that there are certain conditions that allow us to separate food on Shabbat. One of the conditions is that the separation takes place by hand

Forms of Prayer 5: The Conversation Continues

1. Lou Fridkis: “I changed my prayer - help me to be worthy to have another child. I.e. even if its not the right thing to actually have the child, helping me to improve myself is more likely to be something that is appropriate.”

Tags: Daily Torah Reading, Jewish Daily Prayers, Jewish Liturgy, Jewish Prayer book, Prayers & Torah, Torah Reading

The Music of Halacha: Shabbat 20: Dos and Don’ts

In the course of our study of the laws of Sorting we have determined that the Shabbat laws teach us that 1. Choice is a creative act. 2. We are constantly choosing. 3. We must know what we want at this moment.

Tags: Free will, Music of Halacha, Shabbat

The Music of Halacha: Shabbat 19: Shabbat Words

“A mensch tracht, und Gott lacht,” A person plans, and God laughs. I was planning to take a Pesach break from writing a Music of Halacha about Shabbat, but God had different plans. We have been focusing

Tags: Haggadah, Music of Halacha, Pesach, Shabbat

The Foundation Stone Haggadah: Laban and Pharaoh

“While Pharaoh decreed death only for males children, Laban thought to eradicate us all.” How strange that in a story in which Pharaoh plays the role

The Foundation Stone Haggadah: Bread of Affliction: The Puppeteer

He decided at thirteen to become a vegan. His parents and siblings love meat, but he will not allow them to eat what they want. The family must adhere to his standards. A teenager

The Foundation Stone Haggadah: Rabbi Eliezer 2

The sages are pointing to the significance of mentioning, and thus living with the concepts of the Exodus. That by applying the ideas that achieved the Jewish people's freedom

The Foundation Stone Haggadah: We Would Still Be Slaves

If G-d had not brought us out would we still be enslaved in Egypt after all the world's revolutions? And where is Egypt now that it can hold anyone in slavery?

The Foundation Stone Haggadah: Matzah: Survival

The job of the Jewish people was to build storehouses. Storehouses store grain. Grain makes matzah. The Jews ate the matzah so they could work.

Categories

What's Your Purpose

Forms of Prayer: Conversation 7

The Music of Halacha: Shabbat 24: 3 Degrees of Separation Part 3

Consciousness, Intention and Purpose

Forms of Prayer: Conversation 6

The Music of Halacha: Shabbat 23: Three Degrees of Separation: The Second Degree

Midot Hayom: Day 35: Malchut in Hod

Midot Hayom: Day 35: Malchut in Hod

The Music of Halacha: Shabbat 22: 3 Degrees of Separation I

The Music of Halacha: Shabbat 21: Forks & Knives

Forms of Prayer 5: The Conversation Continues

The Music of Halacha: Shabbat 20: Dos and Don’ts

The Music of Halacha: Shabbat 19: Shabbat Words

The Foundation Stone Haggadah: Laban and Pharaoh

The Foundation Stone Haggadah: Bread of Affliction: The Puppeteer

The Foundation Stone Haggadah: Rabbi Eliezer 2

The Foundation Stone Haggadah: We Would Still Be Slaves

The Foundation Stone Haggadah: Matzah: Survival

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