Shabbat Shalom: Pesach By Rabbi Shlomo Riskin Efrat, Israel – On Seder night, we are commanded to tell the story of the Exodus from Egypt. The Mishna tells us that the retelling should be done in response to questions posed by the children. If they have no questions, we teach them the four questions, which …
Laughing at Foxes and Gratitude for the Holiday of Redemption by Rabbanit Naama Frankel, Rosh Beit Midrash of Midreshet Lindenbaum-Lod The Maggid is a key part of the Seder, reasserting the importance of recounting the story of the exodus from Egypt to future generations. What story do we tell? How do we pass on the …
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Parshat Tazria: Leprosy – Between Isolation and Community Life by Rabbi Ronen Ben David, Headmaster of OTS’s Neveh Channah, in memory of Anna Ehrman I remember the first time I studied the Book of Leviticus, and what I felt upon reaching the chapters about leprosy. The general atmosphere was one of disgust and repudiation. Though …
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Shabbat Shalom: Parshat Metzora (Leviticus 14:1-15:33) By Rabbi Shlomo Riskin Efrat, Israel – The Lord spoke to Moses and to Aaron saying,“When you come into the Land of Canaan which I give to you as an inheritance and I shall give you the plague of leprosy in the houses of the land of your inheritance.” …
Parshat Tazria: Leprosy – A Gift from God Rabbi Pesach Wolicki, Associate Director of the Center for Jewish-Christian Understanding and Cooperation (CJCUC) The majority of this week’s parsha is devoted to the plague of Tzara’at. The Torah relates detailed descriptions of different types of leprous spots, discolorations, and several other skin ailments. These ailments are …
Shabbat Shalom: Parshat Tazria (Leviticus 12:1-13:59) By Rabbi Shlomo Riskin Efrat, Israel – “If a woman has conceived seed and born a male child: then she shall be unclean for seven days; as in the days of her menstrual sickness shall she be unclean.” (Leviticus 12:2) One of the greatest miracles of life is that …
Parshat Shemini: Significance in the Details Yigal Klein, Educational Director of the Yachad Program for Jewish Identity Parshat Shemini centers on the terrible agony experienced upon the death of Nadav and Avihu, Aharon’s two sons. The pain in their passing becomes even more significant and heart-wrenching when considering the temporal dimension, namely, the day the …
Shabbat Shalom: Parshat Shemini (Leviticus 9:1-11:47) By Rabbi Shlomo Riskin Efrat, Israel – “And Nadav and Avihu, the sons of Aaron, each took his censer, placed fire on it, and laid incense thereon, and offered strange fire which He had not commanded them. And there came forth fire from before God, and it devoured them, …
“And the edict was given in Shushan the capital” Rabbi Dr. Udi Abramowitz, Rosh Midrasha of Midreshet Lindenbaum – Lod This week’s parsha, Tzav, picks up where the previous parsha left off, and lists the various types of sacrifices. This time, however, it focuses on the special role of the priests in the offering of …
