by Shira Schechter (Moderator) | f 4, 2024 | Revelation and Prophecy, Shavuot (Pentecost), Yitro
Jean-Jacques Rousseau once observed the remarkable resilience and enduring nature of Jewish people. In an unpublished document discovered after his death, Rousseau wrote: The Jews provide us with an astonishing spectacle: the laws of Numa, Lycurgus, Solon are dead;...
by Shira Schechter (Moderator) | f 23, 2024 | Shevat, Tu B'shvat
There are multiple places in the Bible in which humans are compared to trees. In Deuteronomy 20:19, for example, the Torah asks, “Are trees of the field human to withdraw before you into the besieged city?” While this understanding seems to imply that...
by Shira Schechter (Moderator) | f 24, 2023 | Chanukah, Mikeitz, Vayigash
Rabbi Mordechai Kamenetzky told a tale about a poor groom who, due to limited funds, could not afford a skilled tailor and instead entrusted his wedding suit to a less competent one. The result was disastrous: one sleeve turned out ridiculously short and the other...
by Shira Schechter (Moderator) | f 11, 2023 | Tevet
The month of Tevet is rich with historical and religious significance. The tenth month in the Hebrew calendar counting from Nisan, Tevet’s name, like the names of the other Hebrew months, was adopted during the Babylonian exile. The name Tevet first appears in...
by Shira Schechter (Moderator) | f 6, 2023 | Chanukah, Faith
During the period of the Second Temple, under the reign of Syrian-Greek leader Antiochus IV, the Jewish people faced a severe test of faith. Antiochus IV, with his zealous drive for Hellenization, imposed prohibitions on Jewish religious practices and desecrated the...
by Shira Schechter (Moderator) | f 6, 2023 | Chanukah, Faith
Hanukkah is an eight-day holiday celebrating the Jewish victory over their Syrian-Greek oppressors during the Second Temple period and commemorating the miracle of oil that accompanied the rededication of the Temple following the victory. The miracle occurred when a...
