Listeners will focus on one metaphor in this week’s poem – Deuteronomy/Devarim ch.32 – that charts Jewish History. We find that Israel is depicted as God’s child, and God as our parent. Why? Why is the husband-wife metaphor, so common…
Tanakh, Torah, Devarim (Deuteronomy), Ha’azinu, Jewish calendar, Shabbat
Vayelech and Shabbat Shuva: תשובה – Déjà Vu Perhaps? Cultivating the spiritual practice of returning to, reclaiming & renewing a moment from our past; a moment deeply implanted in all of us at conception. Download the Source Sheet Please let…
Jewish calendar, Shabbat, High Holidays, Shabbat Shuva, Tanakh, Torah
In this podcast, Rabbi Daniel Landes discusses what it means to “Remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy”. He looks at the halakhot of kiddush and havdala and addresses what it means to fulfill the mitzva through articulation. Please let…
Jewish calendar, Shabbat, Tanakh, Torah, Shemot (Exodus), Yitro
There is nothing like piping hot challah on a Friday night. It is a quintessential scent of Shabbat and one of the defining tastes of any Shabbat meal. How many of us anticipate fresh challah as we return home from…
Jewish calendar, Shabbat
One of the zemirot traditionally sung on Shabbat begins with the words “ki eshmera Shabbat,” meaning “for I will keep Shabbat.” This poem was composed by Rabbi Avraham ibn Ezra (1089 – ca. 1167), a Spanish astronomer and mathematician, grammarian…
Jewish calendar, Shabbat
The rabbinic prohibition only applies to those who clap their hands consciously. Rabbi Yisrael Nissan Kupershtoch (1858-1930) grew up in the milieu of the Warka Hassidim in Poland. After his marriage, he traveled to his wife’s uncle, Rabbi Yehiel Dancyger…
Self & spirituality, Hasidut, Jewish calendar, Shabbat
Shabbat can be seen as a state of holiness to which we all aspire… and not just on the seventh day. A tale printed in 1929 describes a colorful episode involving two of the most famous hassidic masters – Rabbi…
Self & spirituality, Hasidut, Jewish calendar, Shabbat
We can pray for spiritual sustenance, and even for the ability to pray itself. The High Holy Days, and indeed the days leading up to this auspicious time, are filled with prayers. Synagogue attendance is at its highest, extra prayers…
Self & spirituality, Hasidut, Jewish prayer, Jewish calendar, Shabbat
Zev knew precious little of the holy books, but his fidelity to Jewish tradition could never be questioned, as he fastidiously kept the commandments. It was Friday afternoon, and Zev the wagon driver looked toward the west and winced at…
Self & spirituality, Hasidut, Personalities, Modern personalities, Jewish calendar, Shabbat
A lofty spiritual plane on Shabbat can only be attained through spiritual striving throughout the week. According to hassidic tradition, each Wednesday morning the hassidim of Rabbi Elimelech of Lezajsk (1717-1786) would savor the taste of Shabbat as they recited…
Jewish history, Early Hasidic Era, Self & spirituality, Hasidut, Jewish calendar, Shabbat
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