2. A War Against God
HELLENIZATION and ANTIOCHUS
After the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BCE, the Greek empire set out to impose its Hellenic culture peacefully and...
SUMMARY OF PARASHAT VAYISHLACH
Jacob returns to the land of Israel after spending 20 years in the house of his uncle Laban, in the city of Haran (in...
VAYISHLACH: The ‘NOs’ That Define Our Lives
THE SWORD OF ESAV
Ya’aqob Abinu returns to the land of Israel. He has many doubts. One of those doubts is whether his brother...
VAYISHLACH: Proportionality in the war against Hamas
Written in December 2023
THE NATIONS, UNITED AGAINST ISRAEL
Most of the world's nations systematically criticize and demonize Israel when Israel defends itself from terrorist attacks....
1. The Greek Emperor and the Jewish Priest
This coming Sunday night, December 18, we will celebrate Hanukka. This holiday reminds us of what happened over 2,000 years ago when the Greek-Seleucid...
HANUKA: Sephardic and Ashkenazi traditions
Unlike other Jewish holidays like Pesach, there are no significant differences between the customs of Sephardic and Ashkenazi Jews regarding Hanukka. However, there are...
Megilat Taanit and Jewish Victories
Brief Overview of the Festivities Celebrated During the Second Temple Era, Primarily Reflecting the Victories of the Hasmoneans
The following text is drawn from Peninei...
How, when, and where should we light Hanukka candles?
WHERE SHOULD WE LIGHT THE CANDLES?
We light the Hanukka candles to express our recognition and gratitude to HaShem for the miracles He performed for...
HANUKKA: The blessings and prayers when lighting the candles
This year, Sunday night, December 14, 2025, corresponding to the 25th of Kislev, 5786, we will light the first candle of Hanukka.
The celebration of...
VAYISHLACH: Sexual Harassment in the Tora
(Written in Dec 2017)
THE INNOCENCE OF DINA (pronounced: Deena)
The Tora tells us about cases of sexual abuse and sexual corruption.
This week's Parasha, for example,...
THANKSGIVING: A Sepharadic Approach
Sephardic Jews, the first Jews to arrive in America in the middle of the 17th century, first settled in New York, then known as...
VAYETSE: The First Thanksgiving
A BRIEF HISTORY OF A NAME
The Jewish people were not always called by this name. In the Hebrew Bible or Tanakh, three names appear...
HAGOMEL: The Jewish Thanksgiving
ארבעה חייבים להודות: יורדי הים, הולכי מדבריות, ומי שהיה חולה ונתרפא, ומי שהיה חבוש בבית האסורים – ויצא.
(ברכות נד ע"ב)
Our Rabbis taught that there...
SUMMARY OF PARASHAT VAYETSE
Jacob leaves Beer-Sheba and heads to Haran, Syria. He is fleeing from his brother Esau, who sets out to kill him. He also goes...
THANKSGIVING: A perspective from the 19th Century
Rabbi Sabato Morais (1823–1897), one of the major Orthodox figures of nineteenth-century America, saw the United States as a place where Jewish life could...
The Jewish Origins of Thanksgiving
CAN JEWS CELEBRATE THANKSGIVING?
In 1789, in response to a resolution offered by Congressman Elias Boudinot of New Jersey, President George Washington issued a proclamation...
Judaism and The Age of Disclosure
I have never had any “extraterrestrial” experiences: I was not abducted by a UFO, I did not see strange lights in the sky, and...
SUMMARY OF PARASHAT TOLEDOT
HAVING A CHILD…. OR TWO…
Parashat Toledot tells us that our second patriarch, Isaac, prayed for his wife Ribka, who was barren, to conceive. God...
TOLEDOT: Jacob, Esav, and The State of Israel
THE NEW GENERATION
In this week's Parasha, we meet the second generation of the Jewish people: Isaac, Ribqa, and their children. At the center of...
TOLEDOT: Nothing new under the sun of Gaza
EFFORT AND BLESSING
In this week's Parsha, Genesis chapter 26, we read that Isaac had to leave his land due to famine and came to...
