Shabbos Kestenbaum is quickly emerging as one of the most compelling young voices in the American Jewish community — a rare blend of intellect, activism, and personal courage. Raised in...
Shavuos is the celebration of the great gift of the Torah that Hashem continues to give us. The Rambam, in Hilchos Chanukah, says that the central theme of the Torah is shalom, peace. As the posuk declares, “Derachehah darchei...
Chazal (Pesachim 68:) say, “All opinions agree that one needs to enjoy [good food] on Shavuos because on this day the Torah was given to the Jewish nation.” Rashi explains, “He should be happy with food and drink to show...
Is one allowed to have dairy meals on Yom Tov? When the Beis Hamikdash stood, the mitzvah of Simchas Yom Tov (Rejoicing on Yom Tov) was fulfilled by partaking of the Korban Shelamim. However, when there is no Beis...
Tradition teaches that the souls of all Jews who would ever live until the end of time were present at Mount Sinai when the Torah was given. This concept actually finds halachic expression, in the concept of...
Shavuos is in the air. Z’man mattan Torahseinu. The Yom Tov we celebrate the giving of the Torah. Our receiving the Aseres HaDibros, Ten Commandments to live by. Commandments that have the power to elevate,...
The Desert What was the significance of the fact that Torah was given in a wilderness, in a barren and infertile desert, not in a civilized terrain, nor on soil conducive to human living and nature’s blessing. Why did...
Chaim Lindenbaum, a 77-year-old man from Haifa, was diagnosed with aggressive leukemia in 2022. Doctors said the grandfather could only survive with a life- saving bone marrow transplant. Dr. Daniel Levi had signed up to be a bone marrow...
As Shavuot approaches—a time when dairy foods take center stage on many Jewish tables—it’s important to review the relevant halachot that often arise during this yom tov. From the proper berachot on cheesecake to the permissibility of...