by Eliyahu Berkowitz | f 26, 2023 | Psalms, Rosh Hashana
The words of King David’s Psalms echo through time, resounding in the hearts of billions around the globe. The Psalms served as the musical bedrock of the Temple service. And though we still recite them daily, we find ourselves in an era distanced from the...
by Eliyahu Berkowitz | f 20, 2023 | Ninth of Av, Psalms
Picture this: a city, once pulsing with the vibrant heartbeat of a people, lying in ruins, its heartbeat silenced. This was the fate of Jerusalem when the Jewish Temples were destroyed – a catastrophe so profound that it found its place not once, but four times...
by Shira Schechter (Moderator) | f 17, 2023 | Av, Isaiah
Imagine you are at the base of a towering mountain, its peak shrouded in clouds. The summit seems impossibly far, the climb treacherous. You’ve just descended from another mountain – a descent that was painful and swift. Now, you must climb again. Yet, a voice...
by Rabbi Tuly Weisz | f 16, 2023 | Av, Ninth of Av, Zechariah
The month of Av, the fifth month on the Hebrew calendar, is a month of mixed emotions. In the Bible, it is the month in which the spies brought back their evil report (Numbers 13-14). Aaron, the first High Priest and brother of Moses and Miriam, passed away at age 123...
by Eliyahu Berkowitz | f 12, 2023 | Jerusalem Day, Psalms, Temple
I try to avoid politics when learning the Bible, but let’s face it, David was a king, a political figure of the first degree. Jerusalem was his capital but, first and foremost, he intended it to be the permanent home of the Temple. Though King David bought the...
by Shira Schechter (Moderator) | f 9, 2023 | Av, Isaiah, Ninth of Av
What if you could travel back in time, not merely to observe, but to rectify the past and reshape the future? The annual observance of Shabbat Chazon, “the Sabbath of Vision,” offers us a symbolic journey of this kind. Far from a mere memorial, it serves as a powerful...
