Repentance and Forgiveness – Two Sides of One Coin: Reframing the Past and Changing the Future
This article was the basis for two learning session (links to the video clips at the bottom of the article) we held prior to Rosh HaShanah. During this learning, we tried to better understand the deeper meaning of Teshuvah, the Hebrew word for Repentance (among other meanings as well). It may be perceived as a […]
Translations of the Hebrew Bible – How Accurate Are They?
Overview Only few can read the Hebrew Bible in its original languages, Hebrew and Aramaic; most need to rely on translations. The language used in the Hebrew Bible (Bible or Tanach – תנ״ך) is different somewhat from the Hebrew spoken today. Even I, a native Hebrew speaker, need to use translations when it comes to […]
Gathering to Ancestors – A Personal Revelation About Family Burial
Shavuot is the festival of giving (and receiving) the Torah. The Hebrew word itself means weeks, the number seven, and vows. Indeed, we celebrate this holiday seven weeks after the first night of Pesaḥ (Passover). During the event of receiving the Torah, the People of Israel also took a vow: Na-aseh V’nishmah – We Shall […]
High Holidays: An Interesting Conversation About them with Clergy
The High Holidays was the subject of our two-sessions conversation. We talked about the Creation of the World and hence the importance of words we use. Among the other topics that we exchanged thoughts about wer repentance and forgiveness. You can read more about prayers and repentance during the High Holidays in this article that […]
Pirkei Avot – The Ethics of Our Ancestors: Incredible Lessons That Apply Today
Pirkei Avot, Chapter 1 Text for discussions – Chapter 1 First session: introduction and the first verse of the chapter. Second session: Discussing the second verse of the chapter. Third session: Comparing Mishnah 2 to Mishnah 18, and continuing to Mishnah 4. Forth session: unfortunately, I forgot to record it… Sorry! Fifth session: Continuing with […]
Self-Defense – Permission to Kill: What Does Halakha (Jewish Law) Say?
The trigger to this Article One day, Sarah asked to meet and talk about a dilemma she was struggling with, namely self-defense. In her words, “I am a female, and need to be out and about. I seem vulnerable, but am trained in martial arts and can defend myself. As I am aging, I am […]
Thoughts about Healing Prayers: Do They Help?
Introduction This article adds to a previous one I posted about the meaning of prayers, with focus on the High Holidays. Some of you, my friends, asked me how prayers affected the healing miracle I experienced. Others questioned the effect of prayers altogether. It took me quite an effort to find words and explanations that […]
Who Is a Jew? Responding to D’s Challenging Thoughts
D’s Letter Shalom Rabbi, A few days ago, I posted on social media that from DNA perspective I am not fully a Jew. Genetically speaking, only 25% of my DNA is Jewish. Quite a few Jews commented to my post with rather mean words. They said, “you are not really a Jew” and “Leave us […]
The Ten Commandments: Comparing the Two Versions Creates Interesting Insights
As appears in the Torah Scrolls: The following image depicts the appearance of the Ten Commandments in Torah. As one can notice even without reading the text, the Deuteronomy version seems to be longer, with more words in it. Let’s dive in, and examine the differences section by section. What Is a Commandment? What […]
What Does “Repentance, Prayer and Righteous Deeds” Mean
These words are one of the cornerstones of the High Holidays liturgy: “Repentance, prayer and righteous deeds mitigate the harshness of the decree”. Let us examine what a prayer is and the meaning of these words.