Ancient Connection – Modern Pioneers
Normally, when reciting birkat hamazon during a yom tov, we say a generic verse for all holidays הרחמן הוא ינחילנו יום שכלו טוב, “the Compassionate One! May He cause us to inherit the day which is completely good.” And yet, on the first night of Sukkot, we will recite two verses. In addition to the […]
Rebbe Yochanan ben Zakkai, one of the greatest disciples of Hillel haZaken, was the chief Torah leader who witnessed the darkest period of churban. As Jerusalem was being torn apart by rebel-infighting and Jewish self-hatred, Rebbe Yochanan ben Zakkai hatched a plan to escape the city and convince the Romans to allow for the survival […]
We famously commemorate the ten great martyrs, known as the asarah harugei malchut, every Tisha B’Av and Yom Kippur. These giant Torah sages, likened to towering cedar trees, were cut down by the Romans in brutal fashion. As we near the Three Weeks and the period in which we mourn Jerusalem’s destruction, I thought it […]
