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The Rise of Chassidut
The Torah is an Eitz Chaim: a living, breathing source of truth. It is at once eternal and creative, staunchly rooted and widely open…
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Diverging Opinions on Head Covering
The way in which a married woman chooses to cover her hair is not as straightforward as an onlooker may imagine…
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Illuminating the World: On Women Lighting Candles
The Shulchan Aruch notes that lighting Shabbat candles is an obligation on the Jewish people, not a minhag or a custom but a binding mitzvah guided by halachic rulings…
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The Implications of the Mitzva of Kiddush Hashem
The concept of a kiddush Hashem is so inherent to Jewish life, yet so misunderstood. What is its essence? Is it a mitzvah? Let us unveil its implications. In Parashat Emor, the Torah commands us: “You shall observe My commandments and perform them: I am God. You shall not desecrate My holy Name, and I…
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What Is the Torah’s View on Birth Control?
The first mitzvah in the Torah is given to Adam: pru u’reveu u’maleh et ha’aretz. “Be fruitful and multiply and fill up the land”. From these words our sages derived that there is an obligation to have children, one that is so highly regarded it is called a ‘mitzva rabbah’. Indeed, family and the home…
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Body and Soul: Breastfeeding in the Torah
The act of breastfeeding is woven through the Torah, exploring the fundamental link that connects generations of mothers and children from ancient times all the way to our current day. From Sarah to Yitzchak, Yocheved and Moshe, and Chana and Shmuel, we find the tales of women sustaining their children through their bodies. We can…
