"A Song of Ascents. To You I raised my eyes, O You Who dwell in the heavens (Psalms 123:1).” This verse should remind us of the Kavanah we must have when we look up at our s'chach, and through it's open spaces, toward...
The Abudirham teaches that there are Ten defined blessings in this prayer, each corresponding to one of the Ten Statements with which God created the world. Since Rosh Hashanah we have been engaged in a constant dance between earth and water. “A man is formed...
I spent a great deal of time thinking about Jacob this year, especially about his death as I knew that my mother a"h was approaching her end. ("A Different Sort of Fear of Life," "Not Waiting for the Monument," "The Fragrance of Permanence," "Stopping the...
It's now the second night of Succot and I await a visit from Isaac. It's fair to say that this visit is the one to which I look forward with most anticipation as Isaac is the least familiar of the Seven Guests. I wonder about...
I built the house. First I made it out of air. Then I raised the flag and left it hanging from the firmament, from the star, from light and darkness. (Pablo Neruda in honor of La Sebastiana) “God said to Abram, 'Go for yourself from your land' (Genesis 12:1).” Rabbi Yitzchak...
It is a myth of the lazy storyteller that ghosts primarily inhabit desolate houses and crumbling castles. No ghost ever walks down the stairs and corridors of the places I visit; no specter looks in from the other side of the window. However, when I...
