יום שישי, כ״ב אלול תשפ״וFriday, September 4, 2026
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The Rema (Yoreh Deah 87:3) anticipated the popularity of these substitutes when he wrote that anyone cooking a meat product in almond milk should place almonds on the table, to indicate the origin of the liquid and to avoid mar'is ayin, or the appearance a halachic violation.
If we valued, recognized, made more space for the wisdom of the hands, we'd allow more people to feel successful, accomplished, seen in our community.
As we fight an enemy on our border, it’s not walls that will save us and establish peace.
Just as Hashem opened Himself to be witnessed, we too have the sacred capacity to truly be there for each other. We can create space to hold another's story – their struggles and their greatness – even if we can never fully understand.
By Maayan Zik
For all the community love that was proposed, the few walls that were built surely declared the opposite. Once some of the walls were pointed out, the discussion went in a better direction.
We must remember that these walls are considered holy as they are frequented regularly by Jews from around the world who come to visit and pray.
A dash of hope In the darkness of night Akiva, you have comforted us
Most of us find ourselves squarely in the category of Rabbi Akiva’s students and the angels. Yet, Rabbi Akiva had such a remarkable and unshakable trust in G-d that he not only recited Shema but relished the opportunity even then.
By Avi Ganz
After the plague that wiped out his myriad students, Rabbi Akiva could have faced the harsh reality that they weren't worthy.
The Talmud Bavli and the Talmud Yerushalmi recount that Rachel, daughter to Kalba Savuah, one of the richest men in Jerusalem, recognized the potential in Rabbi Akiva, an unassuming, uneducated shepherd.
By Akiva Kra
Rabbi Akiva taught us that a fence to wisdom is silence, the potential pitfalls of humor, the greatness of man for being created in the image of Hashem, how to view free choice, and so much more.
Empowerment: She empowered the women to take an active role in the community, recognizing their value and potential.
When the Jews crossed the Sea of Reeds and the Egyptians didn’t, Miriam whipped out her tambourine. She played, sang and danced with the other women.
Rashi teaches us that they were so confident that they were destined to be redeemed that the righteous women of the generation left with their instruments in hand.
Miriam – a woman of water and wellness, in whose merit a miraculous well provided Bnei Yisrael with water in the wilderness for forty years, sustained the fledgling nation physically and spiritually.
First, the biblical Miriam. One of the great female prophetesses (Masechet Megillah 14a). She was part of Bnei Yisrael’s leadership team during Yetziat Mitzrayim alongside her brothers, Moshe and Aharon. Her faith never wavered, and she led the women to redemption, tambourine in hand.
I think many people have that moment when they realize suddenly, profoundly, that life is not forever. For me, that realization hit when I turned 30. I recall thinking to myself – "30, then 60, then 90, and then...what?!?" While depressing at first, I grew to appreciate the idea that if life just went on […]
By Martin Bodek
The word chai actually initially appears in the second parsha in the Torah, Parshas Noach 11:12, when discussing the age Arpachshad lived to before begetting Shelach.
The reason movement is so important is that it is the basis of action; and it is ultimately this G-d-like ability to act that is equated with life.
By Ariela Davis
There is nothing more meaningful than living in Israel during this time, which is especially felt during this month.
G-d is life – absolutely. He is the source of life (Psalms 36:10). Everything alive receives its life-force from Him, in proportion to how much it is connected with G-d.
By JJ Eleff
Flowers are Hashem’s present to all of us. It is one thing in this world that you can pick up anywhere and take with you, a little gift saying I made this beautiful world for you, enjoy it!
The cycle of life, the importance of difference and the seemingly incongruousness are there to contemplate. While there is timing to be respected, a consistency that lets you know what chag is before you simply by looking around you, there is also surprise and wonder.
With tulips, it’s all downhill. They shoot up awkwardly after being under the blaze of your dining room table lights for 24 hours and soon lose their color, shape, and glory. They begin to die.
One of my all-time favorites is the bird of paradise. Until I moved to Israel I had never seen, nor heard of it.
What that phrase, Yesh prechim ve’ein bo peirot, means to me is, certain isms out there may look attractive and draw you to them – think of Jews in the 1920s flocking to Communism – but don’t expect to successfully transmit these ideas onto the next generation.
It was on the last moed that our world fell apart, terrorists tortured and kidnapped our brothers and sisters. Did we imagine that we would approach this moed of Pesach with them still in captivity?
Whether it's a time for growth, reflection, mourning, celebration, or rest, understanding the significance of moed encourages us to embrace the present moment fully, trusting in the divine timing of our journey.
By Keshet Starr
Moadim offer a parallel approach. We live our lives on the dance floor, and that’s okay – we are here to learn, to do, to give. But the opportunity moadim provide to go up to the balcony helps us recalibrate when needed, and notice the things that have crept up on us.
By Hillel Fuld
Judaism is about sanctifying every aspect of life including time. But the word muad teaches us that consistency is only positive, assuming that the act you’re doing constantly is a positive one.
We are looking forward to Mashiach coming and leading us through this time in history. We are looking forward to the third Beit HaMikdash being built and the ingathering of the exiles from all over the world.
During these crazy times with our hearts in Israel the four promises of redemption really resonate. Now more than ever we pray for Hashem to save us from Hamas, bring our hostages home and out of Gaza, bring them all back to Israel, and have our nation come together as one.
Motherhood is a fascinating rollercoaster ride and the ultimate tool for self-growth; nothing is as challenging or rewarding as being a mom.
By Solly Hess
According to the Gemara, the fourth letter of the Hebrew alphabet, daled, represents a poor person. When studied closely, we learn that rather than impoverished, it corresponds to selflessness.
By dvora
Four extraordinary mothers, women that shaped and molded our Judaic history.
Towards the end of the Seder, there is a song we sing that answers the question of how many matriarchs launched the people of Israel. Four.
Although not present in my circles, it's hard not to admire the grandeur. It’s also hard to mistake the shtreimel as anything but a sign of proud Judaism.
By Jordana Baruchov Grreenfield
The shtreimel serves as a tangible connection to the rich cultural heritage of Eastern European Jews. By wearing the shtreimel, individuals affirm their identity and connection to their ancestors who also wore similar attire.
Shtreimel signifies pride in Judaism and in traditions. It’s pride in connecting our current to our past.
My shtreimel is my symbol of Jewish pride and not because it’s become trendy, but because I’ve been wearing it since the day I got married in the tradition that goes back in my family several generations. It’s my greatest honor and privilege to do so.
By David Curwin
Another possibility is that shtreimel is related to the Polish word stroj meaning uniform, clothes. Maybe it meant the “uniform” of those Jews wearing it, or perhaps it also had a specific association with head coverings.
My watch is eight years old, its age unforgettable because my husband bought it for me the year I was in aveilus for my father. His death had left me untethered, disconnected; the watch promised connection – no more missed phone calls and texts delivered instantly to my wrist.
These days, as was the case during many such difficult periods in our long history, doing the bris on the eighth day has taken on new meaning.
During the Pesach Seder, we say that eight is the days until the baby’s bris. But there is something else which also has the significance of the number eight, and that is Shmini Atzeres.
Have you ever considered that even the Hebrew word for eight, shemonah, literally means to nourish.
As my father, Rabbi Uziel Milevsky, of blessed memory, taught me, it is the number beyond the natural.
By Eli Lebowicz
One perk is that on Simchas Torah, being a Kohen or Levi is like having TSA PreCheck. I know I just got here five minutes ago and I get an aliyah all the time, but I guess I’ll go straight to the front of the line.
The relatively small measure of honor paid to them is more of a historical reference to their ancestral heritage than a reflection of their personal celebrity.
Maybe it had to be that way. Maybe the lack of emphasis on wealth is baked into sharing Torah and sharing song.
It's an ancient Hebrew name, a tribal affiliation, that also confers social status and serves as a surname. This status is meticulously preserved through the generations – a non-Levi would not dare claim this status to obtain the second aliyah, and if one did, he would soon be discovered.
By Nachum Segal
Personally, I love the distinction of being a Levi. As a Levi you are encouraged to excel at tefillah and zemiros and there is an expectation that a Levi's voice will inspire and touch others.
B'chol dor va’dor. Haman is an archetype of antisemitism that appears again and again in time, from Hadrian to Hitler, from Amin Husseini to Arafat. And so too in every generation G-d protects the Jewish people and the eventual defeat of the bad guys is foretold.
By Avi Ganz
Haman and Amalek will always exist. Their goal is to bolster their own self-esteem by introducing us to our own inadequacies. And our answer to that attack is to vanquish them.
Had Haman done nothing, nothing would've happened, but the greater and greater he propped himself up, the further he could fall.
This is what Haman has become. His name heralds a raucous time of celebration for the Jews, gathered together on the cusp of a day we spend joyously.
What is this seemingly illogical hatred that our enemies appear to be possessed by, their anger akin to idol worship?
By Rabbanit Dr. Adena Berkowitz
It was the Lubavitcher Rebbe, zt”l, who pointed out one of the paradoxes of Havdalah: that its ultimate function is to join and unite the very things it comes to differentiate.
For those of us outside of Israel, there is the added discomfort of feeling separated from the epicenter of our people. We feel the longing for our other half and the guilt of feeling absent as the next chapter of our history is being written by those on the ground.
Failing to distinguish between categories leads to a blurring of values, such as the Harvard professor who wrote a whole book about how animals are just as important as people or the Spanish philosopher who posits that plants have feelings, too.
The separation was never total, and our religious freedoms are a freedom to not a freedom from.
Hearing the word can also conjure a sizeable shul we may remember from childhood or the comfort we feel when we slide into our seat on Shabbos morning.
By Maayan Zik
One definition of sanctuary is a holy space. One way to create a holy space involves defining boundaries as indicated by the above passage from Shemot. Another definition of sanctuary is a place of refuge and safety.
What if we approached our fellow person in distress with the same amount of thought and consideration? What if we took time to think about the recommended guidelines instead of just saying or doing what popped into our minds?
While on the subject, there is one other sanctuary that we are indeed all familiar with, although we never refer to it with this term. And that is the chuppah.
A modern-day version of sanctuary would be a foreign embassy. If the good or bad guy being chased by local authorities could get into the embassy, he was untouchable.
By Adina Broder
Mistakes are evidence of effort. They show that we attempted to do something. Even though things didn’t work out as anticipated or hoped, at least we took a chance which provided us with the possibility of success.
It’s better that you not make a promise than to promise and then not pay.
I once heard someone say that our job is to keep them from making mistakes that are so bad, they can't recover from them.
By dvora
Life is a series of blunders, missteps, and errors in judgement. We take chances, we err, we grow.
I remember the first time I heard that failure creates courage. I was confused; I thought success made a person confident. Until I actually experienced it.
By Sara Blau
My last name happens to be Blau – which means blue in German. And so, when I get a prompt for the word blue, I automatically associate it with my last name and the Patriarch of my husband's family; his grandfather Rabbi Moshe Yehudah HaKohen Blau.
By Keshet Starr
Throughout the Torah, water too, contains contradictions – it symbolizes Torah itself, but it can also connote chaos, as in the times of Noach when flood waters overwhelmed the earth and destroyed all but vestiges of humanity.
Blue holds a profound significance in Jewish life, symbolizing depth, wisdom, and divine intervention.
By Hillel Fuld
What is it about blue? Well, think about the color blue in nature. It barely exists. Even blueberries are not really blue. Blue is the rarest of colors. That is the lesson of techelet, the uniqueness of Hashem and His children, the Jewish nation.
There are many shades of blue. Royal blue, light blue, navy, are just a handful of colors. Keep expounding on the color blue and you might touch on techeiles. Which is another shade of blue, although people might argue that techeiles is its own color.
By Jordana Baruchov Grreenfield
Just like our prayers and our language; the shekel, our money currency, connects us to our past, present and future. It’s a testimony of us as a people.
By Chaim Saiman
Believers have long been challenged to develop a real and concrete relationship with an abstract G-d. Yet the evolution of the shekel is evidence that modern society has little trouble organizing itself around an abstraction.
In Judaism, quantification is everywhere. That is because halacha understands that just like offering too low a price for an object belittles it, so too does effort incommensurate with the value of an ethical act belittle it as well.
In Parshas Ki Sisa, after Hashem told Moshe to collect half a shekel from the men, He had to show Moshe a fiery image of this coin so that Moshe could comprehend the commandment.
In the modern State of Israel, in 1980 the currency became shekels (replacing the lira), and in 1985 the shekel was replaced with the New Israeli Shekel (NIS), which we use to this day.
In the aftermath of the October 7 Pogrom, it's only natural to shiver as we think of the evil acts of the Hamas Nazis, yemach shemam. But that shiver must be followed up with lighting the greatest fire the world has ever seen, so that warmth reaches every single Jew, and spans the globe.
By Ariela Davis
We shiver at the great privilege of being part of this great people living in this beautiful land and of the sacrifice, the depth and beauty of being here. Even now. Especially now.
I keep dreaming of the day when the hostages are freed and we can hug them. I imagine that they will look at all the support they received from the Jewish people during their time in captivity and know how much we love them.
September 4, 2026 
