17 Feb SIMCHA VS. SASON: THE JOY DEBATE
We are finally entering the happiest month of the year — Adar. This month is inherently joyful, yet even those who do not feel that joy are obligated to rejoice, as Chazal teach (Taanit 29): when Adar...
We are finally entering the happiest month of the year — Adar. This month is inherently joyful, yet even those who do not feel that joy are obligated to rejoice, as Chazal teach (Taanit 29): when Adar...
Dear Rabbi and Shira , I’m not sure what to do. After a very long three months of both of us working on large professional projects, my husband and I went...
During the days and weeks before Purim the mail is full of letters requesting matanas l’evyonim. In this issue we will discuss which people one has to give to, how much to give, when to give and other relevant halachos...
Drinking coffee raises a surprising halachic difficulty. Coffee seems to have entered the Jewish world during the 15th and 16th centuries. Yet it was only in the 17th century that a major halachic question regarding its blessing was addressed. One...
Parashat Terumah tells of the construction of the Mishkan, the place where Beneh Yisrael offered sacrifices to Hashem in the desert and until the Bet Ha’mikdash was built. The commentaries explain that the Mishkan is symbolic of the...
Walking through the Boca Raton Synagogue grounds, one immediately senses that something extraordinary is unfolding. The rapid expansion, the diversity of its minyanim, and the unmistakable energy of its community...
There is some confusion as to the appearance of OU D on non-cholov Yisroel brands of milk. Does this certification on a milk container signify that a mashgiach from the OU periodically visits...
As part of the event of Matan Torah, when G-d revealed Himself to Beneh Yisrael and gave the Torah, Moshe constructed an altar and had sacrifices offered. We read that Moshe placed half the blood in basins, from...
This week’s parsha, Mishpatim, opens with the words “V’eileh hamishpatim, And these are the ordinances.” (Shemos 21:1) “V’eileh, And these.” One little letter, vav, meaning and, connects the previous parsha of Yisro to parshas Mishpatim....
The Jewish Parrot After his wife died, an old Jew received a parrot from his sons to keep him company. After a time, he discovered that the parrot had heard him pray so often that it learned to...