Parshat Yitro: Seeking God, Then and Now Rabbanit Sally Mayer is the Rosh Midrasha of Midreshet Lindenbaum‘s Maria and Joel Finkle Overseas Program Moshe’s father-in-law, Yitro, travels to the desert to meet Moshe and celebrates with him over the great salvation of the Jewish people. The next morning, Yitro finds Moshe sitting in front of …
Parshat Vayetze: Prayer in the Darkness Rabbanit Sally Mayer is the Rosh Midrasha of Midreshet Lindenbaum‘s Maria and Joel Finkle Overseas Program In our Parsha, Yaakov leaves home, running for his life from his brother Esav. He stops on the way to sleep and dreams of the ladder with the angels. The Gemara in Brachot …
Parshat Toldot: Start Digging Rabbanit Sally Mayer is the Rosh Midrasha of Midreshet Lindenbaum‘s Maria and Joel Finkle Overseas Program This week’s parsha describes the life of Yitzchak, and begins with a strange pasuk, “This is the story of Yitzchak, the son of Avraham: Avraham begot Yitzchak.” The second half of the pasuk should have …
Parshat Naso: Why Do We Go To Extremes? Rabbanit Sally Mayer is the Rosh Midrasha of Midreshet Lindenbaum‘s Maria and Joel Finkle Overseas Program Parshat Naso describes the option to become a nazir, prohibiting oneself from drinking wine (and even eating grapes!), cutting one’s hair and participating in the funeral even of the closest relatives. …
A Gate of Intentions for the High Holy Days Rabbi Sarel Rosenblatt is the Rosh Kollel of the Straus Kollel at the Joseph and Gwendolyn Straus Rabbinical Seminary We are now in the midst of the days of teshuva and tikkun; days of atonement, forgiveness and mercy; days of judgement and love; days of festivity …
Prayer as Atonement Rabbi Shlomo Walfish is a Ram (Rav Moreh) at OTS’s Robert M. Beren Machanaim Hesder Yeshiva The Mishnah in Baba Kama (Chapter 8, Mishnah 7) gives a summary of the compensatory damages that have to be paid by a person who injured or embarrassed his friend. The Mishnah goes on to say …
Four Approaches to Teshuva Rabbi Avi Bart is a shaliach of the Straus-Amiel Emissary Training Institute serving as the Assistant Rabbi of Blake Street Synagogue in Melbourne, Australia Eyes closed, face buried in your machzor; you stand in shul. Swaying gently in rhythm with the haunting melody of ונתנה תוקף ‘Let us voice the power …
Vows and Yom Kippur Avi Ganz is the director of the Elaine and Norm Brodsky Darkaynu Program for Men On the Eve of Yom Kippur or, what we often call “Kol Nidrei Night,” men, women, and children across denominational, cultural, and generational spectra join together in shuls to usher in the holiest day of the year: Yom …
Why Did God Create Us? Rabbanit Sally Mayer is the Rosh Midrasha of Midreshet Lindenbaum‘s Maria and Joel Finkle Overseas Program Why did God create us? From time to time, this question arises, especially around the the Yamim Nora’im (The High Holy Days), as we remember the creation of the world and take stock of …
The Emotional Pull of the Shofar Rabbi Nir and Andy Koren are shlichim of the Straus-Amiel Emissary Training Institute serving as Rabbi and Rebbetzin of the Jewish community in Quito, Ecuador At the climax of Yom Kippur, right after the solemn Tekia Gedola (the long shofar blast), a woman from our community who defines herself as someone who …
People Hearing without Listening Rabbi David Kalb is the director of OTS’s Jewish Learning Center “People talking without speaking. People hearing without listening. People writing songs that voices never share. No one dared. Disturb the sound of silence”. (“The Sound of Silence” by Paul Simon, recorded by Simon & Garfunkel on the album “Wednesday Morning 3 …
Shlichut as a Way of Life: Serving the Jewish People Through Emissary Work Rabbi Eliahu Birnbaum is the founding director of OTS’s Beren-Amiel and Straus-Amiel Emissary Training Programs For me, Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur are days of contemplation, a time to reflect upon my life and my place in this world. Alongside the beautiful …
