Tishrei
Vaeschanan – Expanding and Defining Borders
Why is Moshe not allowed to enter into Eretz Yisrael despite his 515 entreaties? What is the concept of him looking into the land? Why do we switch out of mourning on the 9th of Av and straight into joy and relationship? What is the parallel between the month of Tammuz that seems to extend…
Read MoreThoughts on Elul
The month of Elul is one that doesn’t get much airplay on the national Jewish consciousness networks. There aren’t any significant events that happened in Elul, no holidays to celebrate, no tragedies to mourn. The month usually comes at the end of the summer, when the kids are still in camp, and the heat seems…
Read More8 Tishrei
Thursday, 8 Tishrei, is the 70th yahrtzeit of one of the first massacres in the Holocaust. It occurred in Kiev, Ukraine, in a location called the Babi Yar ravine, where 33,771 Jews were slaughtered on the 8th and 9th of Tishrei in 1941 (5702). It is important to remember this tragedy which heralded the beginning…
Read MoreMore on Yosef and Rosh Hashana
Yesterday I was reviewing the Gemara in Rosh Hashana that speaks about when Moshiach will come, either in Tishrei or Nissan. I had forgotten that the Gemara there says something very significant that I never understood. The Beraisa lists off a number of things that occurred on Rosh Hashana and Pesach. One of the events…
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