The Waters of Jerusalem
An observant Jew washes his or her hands many times throughout the day: upon waking up in the morning, before prayers, before eating bread, after using the bathroom, etc. The rabbinic term for this process is “netilat yadayim.” Despite the ubiquitous nature of this name, at first glance it does not seem to fit the […]
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Jerusalem The Beautiful
In the beginning of the celebratory song sung by the Jewish people on the shores of the Yam Suf, they sang: “This is my God ve-anveihu, the God of my forefathers and I will make Him great.” While the intention is clearly to praise God, the precise meaning of the word “ve-anveihu” is the subject […]
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Jerusalem As The Light Of The World
The holiday of Chanukah revolves around the fire and light of our Menorahs. Generally, light is understood to be a symbol of spirituality, Torah and a person’s soul. This is based on the verses:: “For a mitzvah is a candle and the Torah is light” and “The candle of God is a human soul.” Accordingly, […]
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Encountering God in the Guests of Yerushalayim
This week’s parsha begins with an anomaly. God appears to Avraham who is sitting by at the entrance of his tent. Suddenly, Avraham seems to abandon God by running towards the three travelers. Bothered by this seeming lack of respect to God, the Talmud concludes from this story that “Bringing guests into one’s home is […]
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Jerusalem As A Process
The Torah opens with God creating the world. One would think that God’s creation would be perfect, an ideal setting within which to live. And while there is much beauty and order in the cosmos, we know that God intentionally did not create a perfect world. The final verse of the creation story is: “And […]
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Praying Alone But With The Community
The beginning of the book of Vayikra deals with the laws of sacrifices. God’s first words to Moshe in this section of the Torah are: “Speak to the Jewish people, and say to them: When a man from [among] you brings (adam ki yakriv mikem) a sacrifice to the Lord.” What is the meaning of […]
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Fetishism, The Golden Calf and Jerusalem
Commentators struggle to locate the root of the Jewish people’s precipitous fall from the heights of the Giving of the Torah to idol worship in the form of the Golden Calf. The Meshech Chochma suggests a powerful interpretation. He asserts that Judaism declares that sanctity stems solely from God and His Torah – nothing physical […]
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