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 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...
by Shira Schechter (Moderator) | f 14, 2023 | Chanukah, Faith, Good and Evil, Kislev, Noach
Today is the first day of the Hebrew month of Kislev. Kislev, the ninth month on the Jewish calendar, occurs during the late autumn to early winter, corresponding to the Gregorian months of November and December. It is the rainy season in Israel, a time when the...
by Eliyahu Berkowitz | f 26, 2022 | Chanukah, Haggai, Israel, Kislev, Responsibility, Revelation and Prophecy, Temple, Zechariah
I had a friend who was scrupulous about keeping a diary. Everything that happened went into his journal. And in his spare time, he updated his calendar to commemorate significant events. Along with the birthdays of friends and family, there were about ten days set...
by Shira Schechter (Moderator) | f 21, 2022 | Chanukah, Covenant, Faith, Mikeitz, Mourning
By Adam Eliyahu Berkowitz Many scholars place Joseph’s descent to Egypt at around 1500 BCE. The Maccabees dedicated the Temple in year 165 BCE. These two events were separated by more than one thousand years and seem entirely disconnected, but the Torah portion that...
