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Balance of Brotherhood: What We Can Learn from Rabbi Akiva’s Students
During the days of counting the Omer, we implement certain practices of aveilut, to mourn the twenty-four thousand students of Rabbi Akiva who died during the period from Pesach to Shavuot. These were giants of Torah, the next generation of torch-bearers trained to carry the tradition into the diaspora so Torah could survive. What do
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Judith Montefiore: A Woman of Unparalleled Faith and Influence
Few are as familiar with Lady Judith Montefiore as they are with her husband, Sir Moses Montefiore, who is renowned for his influence in both Jewish and non-Jewish circles. Yet it was he who said, “I am no great man…the little good I have accomplished or intended to accomplish, I am indebted for it to
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Behar: A Godly Vision
There are some decisions in life that just seem so obvious. Should we move to a warm community or an unfriendly one? Send to an excellent school or a poor one? Or even, should we buy a pretty dress or an ugly one? You may have just been thinking; well, there must be an issue
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Embracing Health and Renewal: The Role of Women in Iyar
The month of Iyar is a special time in the Jewish calendar that reminds us of healing and renewal. As we move from the celebration of Pesach, which marks the birth of the Jewish people, towards Shavuot, when we receive the Torah, Iyar provides us with a unique opportunity to focus on our health and
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One Day at a Time: The Spiritual Power of Counting the Omer
Listen to this article now: Rabbi Abraham Twerski points out that Yetziat Mitzrayim was filled with incredible miracles. We often focus on the dramatic events—the Ten Plagues, the splitting of the Red Sea—and in the Haggadah, we recount many of these miraculous details. But one miracle that we often overlook is perhaps the most remarkable:
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Acharei Mot-Kedoshim: Giving and Receiving Rebuke with Grace
The pasuk (Vayikra 19:17) commands us to rebuke our fellow Jew. Rebuke, the translation of the word tochacha, does not do full justice to the term. Tochacha is not merely a lecture or nagging or criticism, it is loving, gentle and personalised guidance to serving Hashem better. It must be done only from compassion and
