Category: Chagim

If Seeing is Believing, What is Knowing?  He was a battalion commander with the rank of Major in an elite Golani (infantry) unit; in most armies, that would have meant he was commanding battles from a rear position; but in the IDF, commanders lead the way. That summer day in July of 2006 Major Roi Klein was the ranking officer in the field, in the Lebanese town of Bint Jbeil.  While leading his troops in heavy fighting he saw a Hezbollah terrorist lobbing a grenade towards his men. Urban warfare is often fought in extremely close contact, which usually means there is a very limited response time; life and death decisions are almost instantaneous. With no time to think, Klein instinctively threw himself on the grenade, absorbing the blast with his own body and saving the lives of at least five of his men. His soldiers would later share that the last words they heard him cry were not about the grenade, nor...

Sukkot and Simchat Torah Celebrating Wholeness, Spontaneity and Anticipation Off to a Right Start The holiday of Sukkot reminds us of the huts of the Israelites as they wandered for forty years in the desert after their miraculous Exodus from Egypt . It would stand to reason, then, that Sukkot should be celebrated right after the holiday of Passover. However, the Talmudic sages explain that since Passover is in the spring, living in the sukkah would not be anything special. It is common to be outside during the warm months of the year. After Yom Kippur, however, when it starts to get cold, people generally take shelter inside. We go outside, only because G-d commands us to do so. Leaving our homes precisely when we are not naturally inclined to do so, internalizes one of the important lessons of Sukkot-G-d is our only true shelter, and we must trust in Him. We often transgress the will of G-d, because we mistakenly think we...

In 2005, Steve Jobs delivered the Commencement Address at Stanford University. In it, he described how he had started Apple in a garage at age 20; and after ten years of hard work, built it into a 2 BILLION dollar company with 4,000 employees.  And then he got fired; and lost it all.  He had hired a guy the second year whom he thought would help him build the company, but after a year they started to see things differently and eventually they had a falling out, and the board sided with him and fired Jobs. At the time he was devastated and did not know what to do.  But he still loved what he did, so he decided to start over again; he did not realize it then, but as it turned out, it would be the best thing that ever happened to him. The heaviness of being successful had been replaced by the lightness of being a beginner again, of starting...

Getting the Forgiveness You Want Yom Kippur Secrets About Yom Kippur—the Day of Atonement, the Torah tells us “the very day atones.” In fact, there are certain categories of misdeeds that are only atoned for on Yom Kippur. Let’s say you committed one of those offenses, but you regretted what you did.  You decided, “I don’t want to do this again. I am sorry that I did it.  And I promise that I will never do it again.” Even though this constitutes true regret, atonement and reparation happens only on Yom Kippur. There’s something metaphysical about the day of Yom Kippur that purifies and rectifies the past. There are certain transgressions that cannot be completely fixed or atoned for until you step into the day of Yom Kippur. Yom Kippur is a mikvah in time. When you immerse in a mikvah—a purifying ritual bath—there can be absolutely nothing between your skin and the water, according to Jewish law. Before immersing in the mikvah, you...

Tisha B'Av: Does G-d Cry? On Tisha B'Av, the ninth day of the Hebrew month of Av (which this year begins at nightfall July 25), Jews mourn over the loss of the Holy Temple, Beis HaMikdash in Hebrew, that stood in Jerusalem. On this day, the Babylonians destroyed the First Temple in 586 B.C.E., and the Romans demolished the Second Temple in 70 C.E.. Each Tisha B'Av, we have a custom to read Eicha, or the Book of Lamentations, a painful account of the prophet Jeremiah's intense sorrow over the destruction of the First Temple. In addition to reading the Eicha, we abstain from any physical pleasures the entire day. We are not allowed to eat, drink, wash our bodies for enjoyment or wear leather shoes. A little less-known Halacha, or Jewish law, is that we are not allowed to say hello to each other. This law is perhaps the most difficult for me and yet the most meaningful. In Jerusalem in the...

(print version) Wonder Bread Tapping the Transformational Power of Faith During the seven days of Passover we are required to eat only...

(print version) (Why) Are the Jews meant to...

(print version) Passover - In the Name of Love Passover commemorates the miraculous exodus of the Jews from Egypt. After 210 years of oppression and cruel servitude, an entire people leave in astounding record time, faster than it takes dough to leaven into bread. We celebrate this event with a festive meal and ceremony called the...

(print version) What Makes a Leader? ...

(print version) Sukkot and Simchat Torah Celebrating Wholeness, Spontaneity and Anticipation Off to a Right Start The holiday of Sukkot reminds us of the huts of the Israelites as they wandered for forty years in the desert after their miraculous Exodus from Egypt . It would stand to reason, then, that Sukkot should be celebrated right after the holiday of Passover. However, the Talmudic sages explain that since Passover is in the spring, living in the sukkah would not be anything special. It is common to be outside during the warm months of the year. After Yom Kippur, however, when it starts to get cold, people generally take shelter inside. We go outside, only because G-d commands us to do so. Leaving our homes precisely when we are not naturally inclined to do so, internalizes one of the important lessons of Sukkot-G-d is our only true shelter, and we must trust in Him. We often transgress the will of G-d, because we mistakenly think...