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 […]
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Freedom Isn’t Complete Yet — What’s Really Happening in Jerusalem Will Shock You
Freedom is not just the absence of slavery.Freedom is the ability to choose—to give, to love “the other,” and even to overcome our inner instincts in order to believe in something higher. Here in our communities, in the heart of Jerusalem, we speak about another layer of freedom.Not abstract. Not theoretical. Real. The freedom to […]
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Jerusalem: The Beating Heart of Our Redemption
Global chaos grows with every passing day. Antisemitism is rising to levels unseen in decades. War rages on multiple fronts, and pressure mounts against Am Yisrael from every direction. The world seems to push relentlessly for our downfall. And yet—we endure. We always have. What is our secret?How has the Jewish people, scattered and battered […]
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“We are not a conquering people; we are returning home.”
“Dear and beloved people, it is with sorrow that I inform you that my dear and beloved son Roy has passed away. My hero, Roy, chose a command path. He commanded as a platoon leader in the Tomer Company of the Givati Brigade’s Rotem Battalion. The soldiers in the company come from religious homes. They […]
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As Allies Turn Away, A New Light Shines in Tzion
As a Jew who recently made aliyah from America thinking that he understood the country he was leaving, I am astounded. The White House’s political betrayal of Israel reveals a disturbing reality in which Israel cannot depend on anyone. Whether the current policies will correct themselves in the near future, or whether they (G-d forbid) […]
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Keeping Up The Momentum
After the terrorist attacks in Neve Yaakov and the Shiloach over last Shabbat, what lessons can we learn about how to move forward as a nation. It is key to see that the terrorists are seeking to break our rightful hold over our eternal capital – Jerusalem. This is why the importance of returning to […]
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Jerusalem: From Creation to Redemption
One section of this week’s parsha that is particularly resonant this year is the commandment of Hakhel. During the Sukkot immediately following the shemitah year the Jewish people are to gather in “the place that God will choose” to hear the king read from the Torah. On a basic level, this ritual is a form […]
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The All-Inclusive Redemption
This week is known is Shabbat Nachamu, when we read the beautiful haftorah of consolation. As usual, it is also parshat Va’etchanan. In what way is this week’s Torah portion connected with the theme of consolation and redemption? Rabbi Pinchas Friedman offers the following explanation. A highlight of the parsha is the foundational verse: “Hear […]
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Wagon wheels of “the Redemption and the Settler movement” are always moving forward
There is a good reason why it says in our prayers – from Chapter 92 in Tehillim (Psalms): “5 How great are your works, Lord, how profound your thoughts!. 6 Senseless people do not know, fools do not understand. 7 that though the wicked spring up like grass and all evildoers flourish, they will be destroyed forever.” Let’s take for example the return of the indigenous […]
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Jerusalem Is The Engine Of Redemption
All of us yearn, desire, and strive to connect to Redemption. The Rabbis teach that the Divine Presence will not return to the Jerusalem of above until it returns to the Jerusalem of below. What they are saying is that our disconnection from our own inner Jerusalem, which our own inner connection to the Divine, […]
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