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Three Ways Tehillim is a Woman’s Prayer
Sefer Tehillim is one of the treasures we’ve been lugging around for thousands of years and across continents and diasporas, holding tight to its security and power. Although it is one of the twenty-four books of Tanach, Tehillim is a unique sefer, quite unlike the megillot and teachings that comprise most of Torah. It is…
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Helena: Queen, Convert and Pioneer
We’ve all been there. We’ve all dreamed of pink sashaying gowns, dazzling tiaras, and glistening jewelry. We’ve all closed our eyes at one point in our lives and imagined hordes of servants at our beck and call. Of lavish banquets and imposing stairwells. Thrones and treasure rooms and fragrant flower gardens with glistening fountains. Maybe…
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Naso: The Centrality of Peace in Judaism
This week’s parsha contains the fascinating laws of the Isha Sotah, literally translated as the ‘wayward woman.’ What these verses describe is the procedure a woman undergoes if she is a suspected adulteress. The woman under suspicion is brought to the Temple where she drinks bitter waters; water in which the Kohen(Priest) dissolved a parchment…
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Freyda, Daughter of the Alter Rebbe: The Balancing Act of Salt
In the Torah, how do we understand salt? For one, salt was required alongside all sacrificial offerings at the Holy Temple. Some have used salt as an analogy for G-d’s love towards His people; just as the preservative prevents decay, G-d’s covenant preserves His love with the nation of Israel. People often enjoy adding salt…
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Losing Myself in the Crowd: My Arduous Journey Towards Orthodox Judaism
Who am I? Why am I here? These were the questions I kept asking myself throughout my religious journey, and I am still attempting to answer them to this day. For a Baal Teshuva, the journey towards Judaism can be long and hazardous. I would like to share my journey of coming closer to Judaism,…
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Mishpatim: Is There a Difference Between Honoring Father and Mother?
After Matan Torah, after witnessing Har Sinai amidst thunder and lightning, shofar blows and Hashem’s voice, awe and inspiration – we left on a spiritual high. Parshat Mishpatim concretises that spiritual high and breaks down the incredible depth and beauty of living a Torah life into laws which inform and influence our everyday interactions with…
