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The Three Types of Fear in Judaism
Rabbi Yisroel Bernath, a Montreal-based Chabad rabbi, wrote a beautiful piece in which he distinguished between two different Hebrew words for fear: pachad and yira. Pachad, he described, is the “gut-clenching, run-for-the-hills kind of fear.” In other words, pachad is a negative feeling, a dread. On the other hand, he defined yira as an awe,…
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Getting Through Grief from a Torah Perspective
Death. Heartache. Loss. Grief is not the easiest subject to broach, but it is one that creeps into many people’s lives, whether we expect it or not. It is unfortunately a very timely subject for our people at the moment. It comes in different forms and can strike young and old alike. While painful for…
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Korach: Feeling Out of this World!
Many would say Avraham, Yitzchak or Yaakov. Others might say Sara, Rivka, Rachel or Leah. Some might say Moshe or Aharon, Yocheved or Miriam. But never before had I heard this answer. It was after the Shabbat meal on one of our trips away in seminary and groups of girls were chatting, singing and eating.…
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If Hashem Is Everywhere, Why Do We Need a Holy Land?
“Hashem is here, Hashem is there, Hashem is truly everywhere” – so goes the children’s song that many of us grew up singing. The question arises: if Hashem really is everywhere, then what is the significance of a Holy Land? Why do we need Eretz Yisrael, and what is its unique status? How can we…
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Beha’alotcha: It’s the Wonderful Manna
Amidst our journey through the desert, guided by the Heavenly pillar of cloud by day and pillar of fire by night, the nation is sustained by manna falling from the sky. Food descending from the clouds? It sounds like something surreal. But this was our reality, we lived directly under Hashem’s love and care, receiving…
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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,…
