The Akeidah and Jerusalem’s Pillar of Holy Fire
The famous story of the akeidah is familiar to us: Avraham Avinu is called upon by God to bring his beloved son Yitzhak as a sacrifice. While Hashem tells Avraham to sacrifice Yitzchak on a mountain “which I will tell you”, there is never any indication in the pesukim that God told Avraham where the […]
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The Battle, the Bread, and the Wine of Jerusalem
Ma’aseh Avot Siman L’Banim, the actions of the forefathers are a sign for the children. Four kings, led by Amraphel the ruler of Shin’ar, form an alliance and sweep across Eretz Yisrael, murdering, plundering, and kidnaping as they advance. When Avraham hears that his nephew Lot has been captured, he immediately girds himself for battle […]
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The Lowly Jew’s Fire for Jerusalem
The Midrash Rabbah (Noach, 32) recounts a bizarre story about the great Tannaitic sage Rebbe Yonatan, who was a principal disciple of Rebbe Yishmael and lived shortly after the destruction of the second temple. Rebbe Yonatan and his donkey driver were traveling towards Jerusalem to pray at the site of the Beis HaMikdash’s ruins. They […]
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What can we do for Eretz Yisrael now?
I’ll be honest. After a week of standing in stairwells or bomb shelters with children in my arms, after a week of thinking of dear friends risking their lives to keep my family safe, after being overwhelmed with the horrors being inflicted on our brothers and sisters, I simply don’t have the strength to write […]
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Jerusalem: The Sukkah of Peace
Every day, when praying tefilat Arvit, we recite the blessing of hashkiveinu, asking Hashem to safeguard us from all kinds of harm. In this beracha, we request that Hashem spread His sukkat shlomecha, His canopy of peace, upon us. While our liturgy is filled with references to this concept of the sukkah shel shalom, the […]
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Seeking Tzion: The Missing Ingredient of Our Lulav Experience
With the oncoming Chag HaSukkot, Jews around the world will be enthusiastically choosing their daled minim in order to fulfill the special mitzvah of lulav. With great joy, we shake our lulavim for the entire holiday of Sukkot as we sing hallel in delight. However, we unfortunately miss a key element of the mitzvah due […]
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Yom Kippur’s Final Call
While every tefillah of Yom Kippur is essential, Neilah (the last tefillah of Yom Kippur) is probably themost potent and intense prayer in the entire Jewish calendar. While Neilah lacks the lengthy confessionsthat appear in every other tefillah on Yom Kippur, it is brimming with calls of the thirteen mercifulattributes of Hashem. As the gates […]
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Rosh HaShanah and Shabbat: Sounding the Shofar in the Streets of Jerusalem
This year, on the first day of Rosh Hashanah, our shuls will be silent from the sound of the shofar. As the Gemara in the fourth chapter of Tractate Rosh Hashanah explains (29b), the sages decreed that we should not blow shofar when Rosh Hashanah coincides with Shabbat, lest one come to inadvertently desecrate Shabbat […]
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Of Sticks and Bundles: Jerusalem’s Surprising Dispensation
In the times of the Second Temple, when we had the privilege of bringing sacrifices in Jerusalem and eating from sanctified foods, there was an intense emphasis on maintaining ritual purity. Unfortunately, there were many Jews who were not sufficiently knowledgeable in these laws to properly remain tahor (pure). This reality forced the sages to […]
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Mikdash Melekh: the Unsung Theme of Lecha Dodi
On the eve of Shabbat, in practically every Jewish community in the world, a beautiful piyyut is recited as part of the text of kabbalat Shabbat. Although historically speaking Lecha Dodi entered our liturgy relatively late in the game, it is probably one of the most beloved and well-known parts of the siddur recited by […]
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