Q & A: Steps Back At Amidah’s Conclusion
Question: I read with much interest your Q & A columns, especially those that relate to tefillah. I have a related question: In shul I’ve noticed that at the conclusion of the Shemoneh Esrei, some people take three steps backward but then they do not take the three steps forward as required. Is this an actual sanctioned practice?
Zelig Aronson
Via E-mail
Focusing On The Pesach In Our Relationships
We ate matzah – boom! We received an injection of faith for the entire year. This dose of faith is absorbed into our bodies and souls. It doesn’t matter how we felt. Consciously or unconsciously, we have been transformed by this experience.
From Strength To Strength: Israel’s ‘Oz’ Birthday
Of course, Hashem wants us to fight for ourselves and blesses us with the physical strength and heavenly assistance we need. We see this at the end of Parshat Beshalach in the wake of Amalek’s attack.
Glory In The Greatness Of The Great
Aharon was silent out of pride in his sons.
No Excuses
Why was it preferable, then, for Hashem to penalize Nadav and Avihu for their wrongdoing on this very special day during the chanukas hamishkan when it certainly detracted from the happiness of all the people gathered?
Food For Thought
After the Flood, G-d gave humans permission to eat meat, but this was a concession, as if to say: Kill if you must, but let it be animals, not other humans, that you kill.
Spare The Rod, Spoil The Mitzvah? The Talmud’s Take On Tough Love
There are instances in the Gemara where, though corporal punishment is accepted as a practice, there is a disapproving response when it is done unfairly or excessively...
The Most Misunderstood Sin In Jewish History
When you do something – even something good – without being commanded, all you are reflecting is yourself. It is your personal form of avodah, self-contained, limited, and disconnected from Hashem.
A Mikdash Menagerie
According to one opinion, the second keruv on the parochet was not a lion but had the face of an eagle! This eagle was present in both the first and second Batei Mikdash, until they were destroyed.
Q & A: Why No Shehecheyanu For Omer Counting? (Part II)
Question: I have been puzzled by the fact that we do not recite the Shehecheyanu blessing when we start the counting of Omer (Sefirat HaOmer). What is the reason?
M. Schwartz
Via E-mail
Daf Yomi
Entitlements
‘Not Returned To His Former Prominence’
(Makkos 12a)
What The Maidservant Saw Upon The Sea
When Hashem judges us and confers upon us the things we deserve in this world, our Sages teach, He responds to us middah keneged middah, in a manner befitting the conduct we have exhibited.
The Miracle At The Red Sea
It is interesting to note that while everyone assumes that the drowning of the Egyptians in the Red Sea was punishment middah k’neged middah for drowning our children in the Nile, this is really not such a simple explanation.
Essentials Of Judaism: The Essence Of Pirkei Avot
Often, people use hashkafa to refer to what distinguishes between different hashkafot (Litvish, chassidishe, modern Orthodox, religious Zionist, etc.). People are eager to understand and appreciate their unique approach. That said, most hashkafic issues, including most central ones, are things all Torah Jews agree upon.
Time And Its Transcendent Connection To Pesach
Makkas bechoros was unique in that Hashem Himself performed this Makkah (Rashi, Shemot 12:12). The Ramban explains that all the principles of hashgacha pratis were displayed through these events. We were clearly then on an immensely high spiritual level.
A Thing
I don’t remember when that way of talk began, but I’m pretty sure it was only in the twenty-first century. In our culture, being a thing has become the basic unit of cultural ontology.
Q & A: Why No Shehecheyanu For Counting The Omer? (Part I)
Question: I have been puzzled by the fact that we do not recite the Shehecheyanu blessing when we start the counting of the Omer (Sefirah). What is the reason?
M. Schwartz
Via E-mail
The Chametz Alarm
I rummaged and rummaged through every pocket in the bag while the tag continued to beep. And lo and behold – while I was still trying to locate the tag, what did I come up with but two little packages of chametz snacks!
Forgotten Whiskey
When a person forgot to sell his chametz and does not want to destroy it, the poskim write that he should grant it as a gift to a gentile, because this is a gift for the purpose of a mitzvah – to avoid the prohibition of possessing chametz on Pesach.
Daf Yomi
The Red Sea’s Argument
‘Elai And Toviah: Relatives Of A Guarantor’
(Makkos 7a)
Leaping Locusts! Why is this bug different from all other bugs?
Preparing grasshoppers for consumption is very easy. No shechitah is required. And while there is a dispute among the rabbis whether they must be killed before they are eaten, this debate can be easily circumvented by freezing and killing them, ensuring that they die painlessly.
What Makes This Shabbat Great
On the Shabbat before Pesach, Israel risked everything to begin offering the Korban Pesach, and in doing so we made ourselves great, making G-d that much greater in proportion. This manifestation of the Divine light of redemption – in just the moment we most needed to see it – was the greatest thing Hashem could do for us.
There But for the Grace of G-d Go I
Unlike the Olah which was entirely burned on the altar, only a handful of the flour, called the kometz, was burned on the altar (Vayikra 6:5).
Making Pesach with Our Hands
Involving our bodies in the holiness of looking for chametz or preparing for Shabbat is something that can become a habit. That is not to say that we shouldn’t use our minds to superimpose even greater meaning on these actions while we perform them. But it does mean that accustoming our bodies to do good things has value unto itself
Amen!
We are all believers. We believe in Hashem and all the Thirteen Principles of Faith. However, we are a work in progress, growing our emunah every moment of every day.
Being An Educator At The Seder
It is no coincidence that the seder night was when Yitzchak gave the blessings both to Yaakov and to Eisav, thus demonstrating his love for Eisav too!
Education: The Key To Success
If you want to be a great leader in any field, from prime minister to parent, it is essential to think long-term. Never choose the easy option because it is simple or fast or yields immediate satisfaction. You will pay a high price in the end.
The Ride Home
Trauma therapists speak about the difference between acute trauma, brought about as a result of one traumatic event, and complex trauma, brought about over a period of time, almost imperceptibly, due to a constellation of factors. If trauma can develop gradually, healing can too.
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