YOSEF, and the secrets of his success. # 2. SELF -ESTEEM
# 2. SELF ESTEEM
Yesterday we mentioned that by studying in depth the story of Yosef we can easily identify what were the characteristics that...
Rabbi Isaac Arama (1420-1494) and the Spanish inquisition
Rabbi Isaac Arama was born in the city of Zamora, in Castile, Spain, in 1420. for a while he was the head of the...
Rabbi Isaac Aboab da Fonseca (1605-1693), first rabbi of the Americas
Rabbi Isaac Aboab da Fonseca was born in 1605 in the town of Castro Daire, Portugal. His birth name was Simão da Fonseca. His...
13 PRINCIPLES: The right way of thinking about God
שהבורא יתברך אינו גוף, ולא ישיגוהו משיגי הגוף ואין לו שום דמיון כלל
Last week we began to study the third of the 13 principles...
TEHILIM Psalm 19: Who protects us from solar radiation?
1. Psalm of David
2. The heavens bear witness to the Glory of God, and the firmament declares the work of his hands.
3. Day...
Rabbi Abraham Saba (1440-1508) and the Island of Alligators
Rabbi Abraham Saba was born in Castile, Spain, in 1440. When the Jews were expelled from Spain in 1492, there was no safe place...
13 PRINCIPLES: How many idols did Abraham destroy?
We are learning the 13 principles of the Jewish faith. Previously, we analyzed Principle 1: God exists and 2: God is one . Today...
TEHILIM Psalm 18: What saves the buffalo from the lion?
In this psalm King David does not request anything from HaShem. His prayer is a prayer of gratitude.
So says in the first verse,
Pasuq 1...
SEPHARDIC RABBIS: Rabbi Hayim Carigal (1732-1777) and Yale University
The first Jews who came to America in colonial times, were Sephardic Jews who had escaped from Recife, Brazil, where they were persecuted by...
13 PRINCIPLES: Monotheism vs. Syncrethysm
אני מאמין באמונה שלמה, שהבורא יתברך שמו, הוא אחד ויחיד
In this column, we are analyzing one by one the 13 principles of the Jewish...
TEHILIM 17: How do you say in Hebrew “good heart”?
This Mizmor (Psalm) of Tehillim is a "Tefila" (prayer) in which King David asks God to protect him from his enemies. We do not...
HEBREW LANGUAGE: Tell me your name, and I’ll tell you your...
In Hebrew, each letter has a numerical value, according to the order in which that letter appears on the alphabet. ALEF is the first...
13 PRINCIPLES: Science, creation, Creator
Principle # 1: God exists
In his Pirush Mishnayot, Maimonides (1135-1204) formulated the 13 principles of the Jewish faith. "The first principle is to believe...
PSALM 16: True Jewish Faith
שויתי ה' לנגדי תמיד
In this beautiful Mizmor, King David describes his faith in HaShem. In verse 5 he explains that if we really want...
HEBREW LANGUAGE: How to spell in English Hebrew letters?
Question from a reader:
Rabbi, I have a question that may be insignificant: why do you use the "Q" instead of "K" to translate the...
Rabbi Yehuda Hayyat (d. 1510), and the expulsion of the Jews...
The city of Mantova, Italy
יום מאורי חשך בגרוש קאסטיליא....
Rabbi Yehuda ben Ya’aqob Hayyat z”l suffered all the tribulations that fell upon the Jews as...
13 PRINCIPLES: Why do we Jews believe in God?
אתם עדי, נאום ה'
In his Pirush haMishnayot, Maimonides (1135-1204) formulated the 13 principles of the Jewish faith.
"The first principle is to believe in the...
TEHILIM 15: How do we measure integrity?
נשבע להרע ולא ימיר
This psalm of King David is very short, containing just five pesuquim (Biblical verses). But is very rich in meaning.
The text...
Was Christopher Columbus Jewish?
The last name Colón, or Columbus, was typically a Jewish last name, originating from the Hebrew name Yona (“colomba,” which is Italian for “dove”)....
Praying for a rainy day?
As we have previously explained, our rabbis introduced two prayers for the rain in the 'amida. One is barekh 'alenu (the ninth berakha of...
