The Slumber of Yerushalayim
The Slumber of YerushalayimIn this week’s stirring haftorah (Yeshayahu 51-52), the Navi repeatedly calls upon Yerushalayim to awaken: הִתְעוֹרְרִ֣י הִֽתְעוֹרְרִ֗י ק֚וּמִי יְר֣וּשָׁלִַ֔ם אֲשֶׁ֥ר שָׁתִ֛ית מִיַּ֥ד יְקֹוָ֖ק אֶת־כּ֣וֹס חֲמָת֑וֹ… Awaken, awaken, arise, Yerushalayim, for you have drunk from the hand of Hashem the cup of His wrath… עוּרִ֥י עוּרִ֛י לִבְשִׁ֥י עֻזֵּ֖ךְ צִיּ֑וֹן לִבְשִׁ֣י בִּגְדֵ֣י תִפְאַרְתֵּ֗ךְ יְרוּשָׁלִַ֙ם֙ […]
Explore more
Seeking the Place He Chooses
Seeking the Place He Chooses When describing the need to bring our korbanot to the resting place of the Shechinah – the place ultimately revealed as Yerushalayim and Har HaMoriyah – the Torah commands us to seek out His Presence and come there: (ה) כִּ֠י אִֽם־אֶל־הַמָּק֞וֹם אֲשֶׁר־יִבְחַ֨ר יְקֹוָ֤ק אֱלֹֽהֵיכֶם֙ מִכָּל־שִׁבְטֵיכֶ֔ם לָשׂ֥וּם אֶת־שְׁמ֖וֹ שָׁ֑ם לְשִׁכְנ֥וֹ תִדְרְשׁ֖וּ […]
Explore more
Rav Menachem Ziemba: a Soul of Yerushalayim in the Warsaw Ghetto
Rav Menachem Ziemba: a Soul of Yerushalayim in the Warsaw Ghetto In commemoration of Tisha B’Av, our day of national mourning, I wanted to discuss the life of a spiritual titan who perished in the fires of the Nazi inferno during WWII. As we will see, this great tzaddik from Warsaw – and the powerful […]
Explore more
The Guards Who Didn’t Guard
The Guards Who Didn’t Guard After Korach’s failed rebellion and the devastating plague that followed, the Jewish people despairingly declare that they are all destined to perish. It seemed that the Mishkan’s sanctity and the exclusive role of the kohanim in serving there would cause too many Jews to die if they failed to respect […]
Explore more
From Tzion to Bat Tzion: the Expanding Boundaries of Redemption
This week’s haftorah opens with the navi Zechariah (2:14) calling out to the Bat Tzion – daughter of Tzion – declaring that she should “sing and be glad.” The navi promises that Hashem will again dwell amongst this daughter of Tzion and choose Yerushalayim as His portion. As we have noted in the past, Tanach […]
Explore more
Rising Through Sacrifice: the Story of the Churva and Yom Yerushalayim
Arguably one of the most beautiful and symbolic structures in the world, the Churva Synagogue stands prominently in the Jewish Quarter of the Old City of Yerushalayim. The shul was initially built by the followers of Rebbe Yehudah HaChasid in the early eighteenth century, only to be destroyed by Arab creditors. It was rebuilt again […]
Explore more
Ariel Awakens: the Mikdash and the Lion of God
Throughout Tanach and Chazal, one finds constant references to lions, which serve as metaphors for power, royalty, and ascendance. Throughout Chumash, the Torah repeatedly compares individuals and tribes to the lion. In Yaakov’s blessings, it is clear that the lion symbolizes Shevet Yehudah and the malchut that will eventually emerge from him. In the prophecies […]
Explore moreParashat Vayikra:The Pauper with Flour Rivals the Bull
As Sefer Vayikra begins, the Mikdash becomes the dominant center of almost every mitzvah introduced by the Torah. Our parshah begins by introducing the various types of animals that can be brought as a korban olah. A Jew could bring a bull, goat, or sheep entirely on to the mizbeach as a fire offering to […]
Explore more
Guarding the Fire: Shabbat, the Mikdash, and the Redemption of Yerushalayim
Before reiterating the command to collect materials and build the Mishkan, Moshe Rabbeinu deliberately repeats the mitzvah of guarding the sanctity of Shabbat. This crucial juxtaposition reflects the inseparable bond between kedushat Shabbat and kedushat Mikdash. What the Beit HaMikdash is in space, Shabbat is in time. This is why the Gemara Shabbat (118b) associates […]
Explore more
The Al-Aqsa Flood, Crusaders in Costume, and the Great Purim Shpiel
As Purim approached, we took our children to buy costumes. Two of my sons immediately gravitated toward the “Yehudah HaMakabi” set, complete with armor, shield, and sword. Upon closer inspection, the costume looked suspiciously like a medieval Crusader knight, kashered with Jewish branding to make it palatable to an Israeli audience. Despite initial misgivings, my […]
Explore more