Thoughts From Israel
The Size of a Mitzvah
Many people focus their energies on what appears to them to be an important commandment or a Big Mitzvah, often neglecting what they think is not such an important commandment or a Small Mitzvah. What makes one commandment more important to us than another or one Mitzvah bigger than another is …
Salvation
When a difficult situation arises in our lives and especially for our nation as a whole, we turn to God with the hope that there is a light at the end of the tunnel. But as time passes and no way out of our situation has presented itself we become quick to dismiss that God
Everybody Matters
It would be fair to say that many of us have personal peeves and dissatisfaction with our People. Even more so, we as Jews bear the unique quality that we freely admit that we have much room for improvement. There may have been a time when we tried fixing things, but soon gave up because …
Temptation
It is rare to find someone who truly and honestly believes that he is impervious to temptation. However, there could be certain situations where we may reasonably think that temptation can never enter our realm. Repeated experience in specific situations may lead us to believe that we will not …
“I Don’t Know”
We lay great stress on off-hand knowledge. Who hasn’t been impressed by the breadth of knowledge of a great scholar especially one who is proficient in the subjects of the Torah? We may even find that we tend to dismiss a person who does not exhibit proficiency as unauthoritative or even …
Its not your Fault!
When misfortune befalls us some of us will introspect and search within our souls for the cause of this misfortune. We’ll ask ourselves what it is that we have done to deserve this. We may assume that we went wrong somewhere. Perhaps we did something wrong to someone. Perhaps we have neglected …
Honor Your Father and Mother
The Biblical commandment of “Honor your father and mother” is a universally accepted ethic known equally to Jews and Gentiles all around the world. Even those of us who are not so fond of our parents or even worse hold grudges against them, somewhere deep inside of us still have a faint voice …
Turning the Evil Inclination to Good
Even during the Days of Repentance, with Yom Ha-Kippurim right around the corner, we may find that our resolutions for the new year have begun to waver. We may find that some of our sins are not new ones, but ones that we fall prey to year after year. Over time we my come to
Communal Responsibilities
Our Synagogues and communities abound with opportunities for the individual to step up and offer his or her services for the needs of the many. But many communal tasks are often menial and bothersome bearing little prestige or recognition. How many of us aspire to collect siddurim in our …
Do out of love. Do out of Fear
Some people worship God because they fear the consequences of disobedience. Even one who rejects a government will still abide by its laws as its citizen!. Others pine for a true devoutness to God never feeling that they achieved it. But there are yet others that are convinced that their worship …
Israel and its Laws
Torah From Israel
God is our caretaker
God warns the People of Israel that one who slaughters an animal outside of the Tent of Meeting and not before the Mishkan in the Presence of God will bear the punishment of being cut off from the Jewish People. (Lev. 17:3). The reason for prohibiting even the slaughtering of animals outside of the …
Leprosy: Stringency and Leniency
The Torah introduces the code of law that the Priest was to use in order to determine the ritual status of objects stricken with Leprosy, “to pronounce it pure, or to pronounce it impure” (Lev. 13:59). Invariably, cases would have arisen where the straight-forward reading of the Code of Law …
Wisdom of Women
One of the special services that the women were able to provide in the construction of the Mishkan was in weaving materials. This was a task which required a special wisdom which only the women possessed. It was not just a weaving skill but a special talent, a form of wisdom (see Ex. 31:1). The …
Betzalel: Man’s Lofty Intellect
God endowed Betzalel (Exodus 35:39) with the wisdom and artisanship required to build the Mishkan. The wisdom which he possessed embodied in a human being was of course subject to human limitations. However, our Sages expanded on the provenance of Betzalel’s cognitive abilities. Of …
Death and Mourning: A Cosmic Experience
God commands Aaron and his children to observe God’s watch for seven days at the opening of the Tent of Meeting. The meaning of “God’s watch” here is not entirely clear. In what sense is this watch God’s? Nor is it entirely clear why God requires them to observe this watch right now. …
Customs of Israel
המנהג להסתכל בציפורנים בהבדלה
מנהג נפוץ בכל רחבי קהילות ישראל הוא להסתכל בציפורניים לאור נר ההבדלה. אמנם, מנהג זה מקורו במנהג ארץ ישראל הקדום ולא נהג כלל בישיבות בבל. המשנה (ברכות ח:א) מלמדת: “אין מברכין על הנר עד שיאותו לאורו” ופירש רש”י “שיאותו” עד “שיהו נהנין ממנו”. מהי הדרך לההנות באור הנר לפי כוונת המשנה? התלמוד הבבלי מבאר שדרך
“טועמיהו”
מנהג מפורסם היום המכונה “טועמיהו” הוא לטעום את תבשילי השבת בערב שבת לפני כניסתה. כך פסק “מגן אברהם”: “מצוה לטעום התבשילין וצריך לטעום מכל תבשיל בערב שבת” (אורח חיים רנ:א) ואחריו “משנה ברורה”. אולם, הסיבה לטעימת התבשיל לא ניתנה על ידי הפוסקים הללו. הסבר עממי למנהג הזה הוא שייכנס אדם לשבת עם טעם של שבת.
מיעוט דיבור בשבת
מידה ידועה ומפורסמת במיוחד אצל אנשים כבדי ראש היא למעט בשיחה בשבת ובמיוחד בשיחה בטלה כדי לשמור על רוחה של קדושת היום. על ההתנהגות הנכונה בדיבור ביום השבת אומר התלמוד הבבלי: “שלא יהא דבורך של שבת כדבורך של חול” (שבת קיג:). הרי שכאן החיוב להבדיל בין קודש לחול לא רק במעשה אלא גם בהגות פה.
“התזת הזי”ן ב”למען תזכרו
קריאת שמע מבטאת את אמונת היהודי בייחוד ה’ וקובעת את השקפתו של היהודי על בוראו. קריאת שמע דורשת לא רק לב נכון וכוונה כנה אלא גם קפדנות בקריאה והגיית אותיותיה. על הזכות הגדולה בקריאה הקפדנית של שמע אומר רבי חמא ברבי חנינא בתלמוד הבבלי: “כל הקורא קריאת שמע ומדקדק באותיותיה מצננין לו גיהנם”. (ברכות טו.)
Poets of Israel
Yannai
The first of the great poet-sages of the Land of Israel in the classic period. Yannai composed poems for the weekly Torah portion and Holidays.
R. Saadiah Gaon
The Great head of the Babylonian Academy of Sura. Lived in the Land of Israel prior to immigrating to Babylonia. His poetry is replete with Teachings of the Land of the Land of Israel