by Shira Schechter (Moderator) | f 17, 2022 | Covenant, God, Messiah, Prayer, Redemption, Seventeenth of Tammuz, Temple
There are many days that are auspicious, commemorated for a powerful event that happened on that date, earning them personal or even national significance. Birthdays and national holidays are like this. The same is true for sad days commemorating tragic events. People...
by Shira Schechter (Moderator) | f 15, 2022 | Mourning, Tammuz, Temple
My son had his blanky; the blanket he used in the crib when a baby. Over the years, we tried to replace it but to no avail. Now that he was ten years old, we had given up on replacing the now-tattered piece of cloth. I tried half-heartedly to protest when I saw him...
by Eliyahu Berkowitz | f 23, 2022 | God, Isaiah, Israel, Messiah, Redemption, Temple
Many people believe that Judaism is not ‘Messianic’, and that observant Jews are only concerned about performing commandments. But one of the commandments, as enumerated by Maimonides, is to anticipate that the Messiah will arrive at any moment. Dr. Pinchas Polonsky,...
by Shira Schechter (Moderator) | f 16, 2022 | Temple
Going up to the Temple Mount is, for me, an exhilarating and spiritually uplifting experience. I sense the holiness, the ineffable power of this holy site. I close my eyes, and I can see my forefathers and foremothers walking in this very place, joyfully approaching...
by Shira Schechter (Moderator) | f 12, 2022 | Beha'alotcha, Israel, Leadership, Light Unto the Nations, Temple
I often find myself walking around my house, turning off lights in empty rooms. Why waste electricity if there is no one there to benefit from it? Interestingly, a similar question arose thousands of years ago, in the Temple itself! In the eighth chapter of Numbers,...
by Shira Schechter (Moderator) | f 7, 2022 | Temple
What is the power of a blessing? Can I really improve the lives of the people I love by blessing them? Though prayer and blessings are critically important to both Judaism and Christianity, there are surprisingly few formal prayers recorded in the Bible. In this...
