Festivals • April 2022
Kabbalah Lectures: Pesach Themes
We bring you lectures and classes form our archives that address themes associated with Pesach such as personal freedom and growth. The Hebrew word for Egypt is Mitzrayim, when substituting…
Parshah • March 2022
Tazria – A Baby in Mother’s Womb
This week’s parsha, Tazria begins with a discussion of conception and birth. Just as a baby in its mother’s womb, is bent over, unseeing, and fully dependent, so are the…
Parshah • March 2022
Shemini – Delete ‘Seven’ – Express ‘Eight’
Design underlies all of creation, presupposing both intent and a Grand Designer. The surface of the world is represented by the number seven – natural law. The number eight represents…
Festivals • March 2022
Yizkor Guide, Prayers & Times
Yizkor can mean ‘remember’ and it can also mean ‘mention’. When we recite the Yizkor prayer we not only remember loved ones but bring them into the present by mentioning…
Festivals • March 2022
How & Why to Sell Your Chametz
By Rabbi Menachem Wolf. The Torah describes that on the festival of Pesach, not only should we not eat chametz (leaven/fermented grain product), we shouldn’t have any chametz in our…
Festivals • March 2022
How & When to Search & Burn Chametz
By Rabbi Menachem Wolf. The search for chametz is a ritual based on the traditional double checking that the home is free of chametz (leaven or fermented grain-based product). Once…
Festivals • March 2022
Candle Lighting 2022: Blessings & Times
Lighting the candles of Shabbat and Yom Tov (festivals) is a part of ushering in the energy of those sacred moments into one’s home. The specific times of lighting correspond…
Parshah • March 2022
Tzav – Thick Steaks and Double Milk-Shakes
When making the offerings in the temple, the fats had to be burnt first. Interestingly, when we fast, we use up our storage fats – focusing that day on the…
Parshah • March 2022
Vayikra – Beginning With the Hardest First
Vayikra, the third volume of Torah, is the most difficult, filled with technical details of offerings and sacrifices. Yet children begin their studies right here. To teach the young child…
Parshah • March 2022
Pekudei – The Individual and the Collective
This week’s Parsha is often read together with the previous one, Vayakhel, except during a leap year, like this year. While Vayakhel emphasizes the collective value of pulling together, Pekudei…
Parshah • February 2022
Vayakhel – A Course in Wise Fund-raising
One can be generous to a fault. We were so very generous contributing to the golden calf! So, G-d gave us the opportunity to make amends by contributing to the…
Parshah • February 2022
Ki Tissa – Mirror, Mirror on the Wall
Moses rejected the gift of mirrors that the womenfolk offered for the construction of the Mishkan. He was concerned that mirrors were tainted with vanity, even though the Jewish women…
Parshah • February 2022
Tetzaveh – What’s in a Name
Moses’ name doesn’t appear in this week’s Parsha even though he is its central figure. A name doesn’t express the essence of a person. It only identifies him for third…
Parshah • February 2022
Teruma – Pride Means Effort, Not Size
Pride is the reward of effort. The magnitude of the outcome matters less than the personal expenditure of effort and involvement. The Jewish people’s effort and contribution to the construction…