In Germany they came first for the Communists, and I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a Communist. Then they came for the Jews, and I didn’t speak up because...
As we engage in the seasonal mitzvah of counting the sefira, and observe the national period of mourning for the tragic deaths of the 24,000 disciples of Rabbi Akiva, we...
The Gemorah in Berochos states, “when the month of Nissin is upon us, one goes out to recite a beracha on a tree that is starting to bud.” The Shita...
Parashat Shemini tells of the events on the eighth and final day of the Mishkan’s inauguration. For seven days, special sacrifices were offered, and Aharon and his sons – the...
The Gemorah (Moed Koton 14B) understands from the pesukim in parshas Shmini that the kohein gadol does not observe aveilus over the death of a relative. (See Sefer Ginat Egoz,...
We have just completed the “season of questions.” Just a few days ago, we bid farewell to a holiday that encourages us to challenge, to inquire, and to ask. Pesach...
Parashat Shemini tells of the events that took place “on the eighth day” – meaning, the day after the seven-day Miluim process during which Aharon and his sons were prepared...
The period between Pesach and Shavuos contains a mourning period–different days depending on one’s custom–during which certain joyous behaviors are forbidden (commonly called Sefirah because this period also includes the...
Rabbi Kalonymus Kalman Shapira, a leading Chassidic Rabbi was one of the most prominent Rabbinic victims of the Holocaust. A leader of the Warsaw ghetto, he secretly ran a shul...