by Shira Schechter (Moderator) | f 27, 2022 | Community, Covenant, God, Holiness, Responsibility, Revelation and Prophecy, Yitro
The Exodus from Egypt would not have been complete without entering into a covenant with God. In this covenant, the nation of Israel swears to keep the Torah. Just like the covenant made with Abraham, the covenant at Sinai was sealed with blood (Exodus 24:8). Unlike...
by Shira Schechter (Moderator) | f 18, 2022 | Community, Covenant, Education, Fear of God, God, Yitro
When Moses presented the Jews with the prospect of receiving the Torah at Sinai, they respond: “All that Hashem has spoken we will do!” (Exodus 19:8). This expression of acceptance was repeated and expanded in a phrase that has characterized Jewish observance...
by Shira Schechter (Moderator) | f 16, 2021 | Covenant, Messiah, Purity, Redemption, Vayishlach
The city of Shechem is mentioned as one of the first places Abraham passed through when he arrived in Canaan (Genesis 12:5). Later in the Bible, Dina, the daughter of Leah and Jacob, was raped by Shechem, the son of Hamor the Hivite, chief of the country. After the...
by Shira Schechter (Moderator) | f 12, 2021 | Community, Covenant, Israel, Vayeitzei
The story of Jacob and his wives is far more than a biographical account. It is, in fact, the beginnings of the nation that takes its name from Jacob’s second name: Israel. From four wives he fathered twelve sons from which the twelve tribes of Israel were born. The...
by Shira Schechter (Moderator) | f 14, 2021 | Antisemitism, Bible Study, Covenant, Faith, Israel, Resurrection, Vayeira
It is hard to imagine the fear and panic during the “Hamtana” waiting period in the weeks leading up to the Six Day War. Israel’s five larger and better armed neighbors were all threatening to push the Jews into the sea and wipe Israel off the map. The leadership of...
by Rabbi Tuly Weisz | f 12, 2021 | Antisemitism, Covenant, Lech Lecha
One of the most meaningful moments for me personally was at the Brit Milah, the “Covenant of Circumcision” of my three sons. It is hard to describe the emotions that accompany bringing your eight-day year old into the Jewish people with the blessed ritual that has...