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...
