HILKHOT TESHUBA 4:2 When the King repents
Maimonides explains the difficulties of admitting to ourselves that we have sinned. Taking charge of our misdeeds -hakarat haHet- is probably the hardest step in...
HILKHOT TESHUBA 4:1-2. Obstacles in the way of Teshuba
In Chapter 4 of Hilkhot Teshuba Maimonides enumerates twenty-four actions, personality patterns or attitudes which prevent or make very difficult for a person to...
HILKHOT TESHUBA 3:14 Maimonides on Bullying
In the third chapter of Hilkhot Teshuba, Halakha 5, Maimonides asserts that the Jews, and the righteous among the gentiles (haside ummot ha'olam), will...
HILKHOT TESHUBA 2:1: Forgiveness and quality of life
Yesterday we explained that when somebody apologizes for an offense or for a wrong thing he or she did to us, we should be...
HILKHOT TESHUBA 1:1: to be or not to be specific?
Maimonides explains that the commandment of Teshuba is fulfilled when we recite the Viduy. Viduy is the verbal confession of our transgressions, while feeling...
The # 1 Mitzva of the Tora
The first Mitzva of the Tora and the first blessing given by haShem to humankind is to marry and have children. Genesis 1:28 says: "And...
SELIHOT: Training for a Marathon day
From the second day of the month of Elul (today!) until Yom Kippur, the Sephardic custom is to recite the Selihot prayer.Selihot is a...
RELIGIOUS INTEGRITY: The Honest YES
In the Tora it is written: (vayiqra 19:36) "Use honest scales and honest weights, an honest ephah and an honest hin ; I am the LORD your God,...
Rabbi Ya’akob Hajez (1620-1674)
Rabbi Ya'aqob Hajez (aka Hagiz) was born in Fez, Morocco in 1620. In 1657 and after living in Livorno (Italy) for a few years, Rabbi Hajez settled...
Maimonides on how did Abraham Abinu find God?
Maimonides (MT, 'abodat kokhabim, 1:3) explains that since his early childhood and while everyone else was adoring human-looking idols, Abraham began to think out of...
THE SECOND COMMANDMENT: Carving images.
As we have already explained (see here) the Ten Commandments (in Hebrew: the Ten Declarations or enunciations) include more than "ten" commandments or precepts. According...
Rabbi Moshe Almosnino (Greece 1515-1580)
Rabbi Almosnino was born in Salonica in 1515. Rabbi Almosnino belonged to a prominent Sephardic family, which fled Aragon after two of his ancestors...
Maimonides on ‘aboda zara (1:2): From God to idol worshipping
Of its 613 Mitzvot (commandments) the Tora dedicates 51 to the prohibition of idol worshiping or 'aboda zara. In His book Mishne Tora Maimonides devotes...
15 of Ab: From mourning to celebration
In Masekhet Ta'anit Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel said that "There were no better days for the People of Israel than the Fifteenth of Ab and...
zekher lahurban: Remembering His house in our homes
As we have explained yesterday, the Rabbis enacted a number of ordinances in order to remind us of the destruction of the Holy Temple....
Eve of the 9 of Ab: preparing ourselves for 24 hours...
Tish'a beAb, our national day of mourning, begins tonight Monday July 15th. In NYC the fast begins at 8:16pm and ends at 8:45pm (some communities...
9 of Ab: avoiding happiness on a day of mourning
Tish'a be-Ab is the Jewish National Day of Mourning. This year, it will be observed from Monday night July 15th until Tuesday night July...
9 of Ab: Reaching a state of grief
Tish'a be-Ab is the Jewish National Day of Mourning. This year, it will be observed from Monday night July 15th until Tuesday night July...
What happened on Tish’a be-Ab?
Tish'a be-Ab is the Jewish National Day of Mourning. On Tish'a be-Ab every Jew must feel as if he or she is in mourning...
Abstaining from meat during the nine days
"Once the month of Ab begins (=today) we minimize our happiness" mishenikhnas Ab, mema'atim besimha. These days are dedicated to prepare ourselves for mourning...
