“Sometimes the simplest things are the most profound. My job is to bring out in people & what they wouldn’t dare do themselves“
The Four Foundational Harms of a Phone-Based Childhood
In this text, I describe the four foundational harms of the phone-based childhood. These are profound changes to childhood caused by the rapid technological...
FOUR NORMS TO DEAL WITH CELL PHONES ADDICTION
I offer these ideas for reforms, all of which aim to reverse the two big mistakes we've made: overprotecting children in the real world...
How And Why The New York Times Ignored The Holocaust
THE ONLY THING NECESSARY FOR THE TRIUMPH OF EVIL IS FOR POWERFUL MEN TO DO NOTHING
WHEN JEWS WERE OBSESSED TO BE GERMANS...
Many times I...
TEFILA COMPANION
Dear Friends , these are the recordings of some of the most important Tefilot.
The audios were made, mainly, for learning the Tefila, but they...
Clint Eastwood, Shlomi and the Jewish people
November 21st, 2014
Two days ago, as Coty and I were leaving 'Mamila', near the Old City we met Shlomi, a young 'cool' Israeli taxi...
SHABBAT: Having guests and parenting, by Coty Bitton
This Friday you can feel a sense of excitement at our home. My husband told me that this Shabbat we are hosting a group...
Pesach Trivia for the Seder
One of the most helpful and practical recommendation I can share is to prepare for the Seder a list of 20 to 30 questions...
Pesach in the Bet-HaMiqdash
Pesach was a very joyful and intense holiday in the times of the Bet haMiqdash. Hundreds of thousands of Jews would walk to Yerushalayim...
THE EIGHT MITSVOT OF PESACH
In his introduction to Mishne Torah Hilkhot Pesach, Maimonides lists and describes a total of eight biblical Mitzvot related to Pesach. This list does not include...
PEQUDE: Being Honest and Looking Honest
ואת האלף ושבע המאות וחמישה ושבעים עשָה ווים לעמודים
ABOVE SUSPICION?
This week we continue reading about the construction of the Mishkan, the Tabernacle or Temple,...
PEQUDE: Love is in the details
וַיֹּאמְרוּ אֶל מֹשֶׁה לֵּאמֹר מַרְבִּים הָעָם לְהָבִיא מִדֵּי הָעֲבֹדָה לַמְּלָאכָה
Perhpas late… but not too late….
I think it was when I had my third child...
VAYAQHEL: Shabbat, From Fire To Cellphones
לא תבערו אש בכל מושבותיכם ביום השבת
WHAT CANNOT BE DONE ON SHABBAT?There are 39 categories of prohibited activities on Shabbat. These activities are called...
SUMMARY OF VAYAQHEL-PEQUDE
Our Parasha begins with a reminder about the observance of Shabbat, indicating that even the construction of the Tabernacle, or Mishkan, must be suspended...
VAYAQHEL: Can You Stop Thinking About Money?
It is impossible and even inadvisable not to think about money when one lacks the essentials—food, warmth, shelter from the rain, or access to...
KI TISA: How Many Days Was Moses in Mount Sinai?
The giving of the Torah took place on the sixth day of Sivan, at Ma‘amad Har Sinai, the extraordinary event when the covenant between...
KI TISSA: If you could ask God one question, what would...
THE GOLDEN CALF AND YOM KIPPUR
This week's Perasha, KI TISA addresses several issues. Among them, the episode of the golden calf. The people, impatient...
SUMMARY OF PARASHAT KI TISA
THE LAST DETAILS OF THE MISHKAN
God commands Moshe to take a population census of all adult males by collecting a silver half-shekel coin from...
INTRODUCTION
Many children’s versions of Megillat Esther present the story with imaginative elements and colorful midrashic expansions that are appealing to young readers. However, this...
Vashti and Social Media
MIDRASH AS AN EDUCATIONAL TOOL
Midrashim and Aggadot—rabbinic interpretations of biblical texts—include a wide range of literary genres. Some are fictional narratives, others are poetic,...
SUMMARY OF TETSAVE
MENORA
HaShem commands the Israelites to use the purest olive oil each day to kindle the Menora, the golden candelabrum inside the Tabernacle.
THE GARMENTS OF...
TETSAVE: The Scent of Jerusalem
The Tora mentions the preparation of the qetoret (קטורת הסמים), translated in English as “incense,” in our Parasha Tetsave (Shemot/Exodus 30:34). Incense is a...
MISHPATIM: The Rights Of A Jewish Wife
The Ketuba, the Jewish marriage document, states the obligations of the husband towards his wife (see more here). The groom declares to his bride...
MISHPATIM: When And How Did Judaism Begin?
ויקח ספר הברית ויקרא באזני העם ויאמרו כל אשר דבר ה' נעשה ונשמע
Exodus 24:7
THE BERIT
Three thousand five hundred years ago, the people of Israel...
Summary of Parashat Mishpatim
Last week we read the Ten Commandments, which are like a preview of the 613 commandments, that make up the National Constitution of the...
PURIM: How We Celebrate and Why
לעשות אותם ימי משתה ושמחה ומשלח מנות איש לרעהו ומתנות לאביונים
“To observe them as days of feasting and joy, and of sending portions one...































