Did Moses Forget to Bless Simeon?

by Shira Schechter (Moderator) | f 8, 2023 | Good and Evil, Vezot Haberachah

By Adam Eliyahu Berkowitz The Torah is not really a very large book. In a mere 79,976 Hebrew words, the Torah (Five Books of Moses) covers all of history from the creation until the Jews were ready to enter the Land of Israel. With such a wide-reaching agenda, it...

The Real Victory of Psalm 4

by Shira Schechter (Moderator) | f 31, 2022 | God, Israel, Psalms, Temple

By Adam Eliyahu Berkowitz King David was a complicated person. Perhaps the most perplexing part of his life was his dual identities as a musician and as a warrior. David went from playing his harp to soothe King Saul, to having run from and fight his patron king. He...

Today is the Seventeenth of Tammuz: What Does that Mean?

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...

The Fast of the Firstborn

by Shira Schechter (Moderator) | f 10, 2022 | Bo, Nisan, Passover, Responsibility, Temple

On the eve of Passover, firstborn sons fast from sunrise to sunset in commemoration of the salvation of the Israelite firstborns during the Plague of the Firstborn in Egypt. Unlike all other Jewish fast days, only firstborn children are required to fast on the Fast of...

The Status of the Priests, Then and Now

by Shira Schechter (Moderator) | f 1, 2022 | Holiness, Israel, Pekudei, Temple

After the sin of the Golden Calf, the tribe of Levi is chosen to serve in the Temple instead of the firstborn as they did not participate in the sin. Aaron is chosen to be the High Priest, and Moses anoints his brother and his brother’s sons. With this, the...