Sukkot: Every Generation Unique; Every Generation Connected to the Past
Every generation of Jewish history had its own unique struggles and challenges. In our own generation, Jews live with triumphs and challenges exclusive to this generation
Simchat Torah 2024: A Time to Dance, A Time to Cry
On this coming Simchat Torah, we will once again dance with our Torahs. But, as we well know, the singing and dancing will never ever be the same as prior to October 7th 2023. It will be tinged with a bit of sad reflection and daunting memory.
Q & A: Yiftach B’Doro – A Leader In Our Generation
Question: My problem is that some question certain character traits of President Trump and his fitness for office. I really don’t think sitting out this election is a proper option. I read your columns and as such is it possible to present a Torah view in this matter.
No Name Please
Via email
Daf Yomi
Who’s On First?
‘Who Is Considered A Firstborn?’
(Bava Basra 126b)
The Beginning
It is the beginning – not only of our annual Torah reading which we recommenced with Bereishis – but the beginning of our efforts to effect lasting changes. It is the beginning of an opportunity to really make this the year we truly hope it will be.
The Once And Future Redemption
When Hashem finally redeems His people from all our afflictions, crushing our enemies and “their high places” beneath us, then we will encounter the final unfolding and unfurling of His Name over all of creation.
In The Beginning
Many people wait to review the parsha on Shabbos, and this is their undoing! Shabbos is at the end of the week and, if one gets busy or is too tired (a common occurrence), the week is over and its already time for Parshas Noach. Therefore, start making inroads on Sunday.
The Deeper Purpose Of Torah Wisdom
The world in which we live is an avenue to the spiritual; we can access the spiritual, transcendent world through the physical world because the two are intimately and intrinsically connected.
Damaged Esrog
If the person decides not to buy the item, some consider him henceforth a shomer sachar, liable also for theft, like a borrower after the time, while others consider him a shomer chinam, liable only for negligence, since it turned out that he had no benefit (Sma 200:31).
Daf Yomi
Priorities
‘According To Their Wisdom And Their Age’
(Bava Basra 120a)
Z’man Simchateinu
Simcha, Sason & Chedva, and the distinctions between them.
The Universality Of Sukkot
Not only are the four kinds and the tabernacle different in character; they are even seemingly opposed to one another. The four kinds and the rituals associated with them are about rain.
National Prayers In Meah Shearim: The Beit Tefilah – Har Tziyon Siddur
As a siddur meant for both religious Zionists and non-Zionist charedim, and much like siddurim of previous generations, the original Beis Tefilah also did not include the national prayers – those said every Shabbat and those said on Israel’s Independence Day, Memorial Day, and Jerusalem Day.
Holocaust Survivors Defy Terror
After the Nazis failed to murder them, Hezbollah tried to do so, but they won’t succeed either, wrote Yaron.
One Mitzvah Leads To Another
Our story takes place in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan in 2014. What?! You never heard of Sault Ste. Marie? The very town of legendary native American fur trapper Ozhaguscodaywayquay.
Ushpizin
Question: What are the ushpizin and why are there two different versions of their order on Sukkot?
Avrohom Zins
(Via E-mail)
Thoughts To Have While In The Sukkah
This commemoration is considered so vital that, while for most mitzvos it is sufficient simply to have in mind that one is doing the command of Hashem, this is not good enough when it comes to the precept of Sukkah.
Chag Sukkot: What We Learn From Displacement
We must remember that this world is merely the corridor to the palace (Avot 4:16), the gateway to the next world. This world and its pleasures are not the ultimate end goal.
Hashem’s Love, Away From The Crowds
We are commemorating the individual Jew, the lonely Jew, who was not connected to the nation in that moment, who felt alone, who felt broken, who felt lost, but who nonetheless was protected by G-d even though he or she was not surrounded by the clouds of glory.
Faulty Shelters, Resilient Beauty
So, this year we sit in our Sukkot with mixed emotions, recalling the glory days of the desert but also the dark days of the past year. As we sit within our fragile Sukkot, sympathize with the anguish felt by so many Israelis whose homes – once places of safety – proved incapable of protecting them.
The Magnitude Of The Sacrifice
Is it true then that one elevates oneself to the level of the most righteous simply by sacrificing one’s life for the sanctification of the Name?
Lulav & Children
One must not give one’s lulav to a child, even one’s own child, to shake on the first day of Sukkot. This is because according to Torah law, a child is able to acquire ownership of something (in this case, the lulav), but is not able to transfer ownership to someone else.
Pain Of Separation
What emerges from these Acharonim, especially Magen Avraham, is that the regular proximity to one’s spouse, even if physical contact is prohibited, is comforting, and losing that proximity is discomforting – and this discomfort might be sufficient to exempt a person from sukkah!
Joy
We all know the verse "Serve Hashem in joy" (Tehillim 100:2), which seems to indicate that there is a positive commandment to serve G-d in joy. However, if you search Sefer HaChinuch, which lists and discusses all 613 mitzvot, for this specific mitzvah, you will not find it.
Does Redemption Hinge On Repentance?
Rabbi Yoshiya, who holds that Eretz Yisrael was divided among those who left Egypt, is of the opinion that the Jews merited the land of Israel as a result of the increased suffering in Egypt.
Should We Use The Name Avshalom?
...even though Avshalom the person might have been a wicked fellow, since his name has a positive meaning (father of peace, or my father is peace or something along those lines), it is still appropriate to use this name in naming our children.
Mirrors And Windows: The Secret Of Schach
The spiritual concept of beauty, and its relevance to marriage, is central to the connection we aim to develop through the process of Sukkos.
Un-Handy
I am always intrigued by people who are handy. I am also intrigued by people who are artistic. I guess it’s because I’m so untalented in those areas.