by Shira Schechter (Moderator) | f 19, 2023 | Free Will, God, Va'eira
By Adam Eliyahu Berkowitz People are complicated but God has us figured out, as the prophet Jeremiah said: Most devious is the heart; It is perverse—who can fathom it? I Hashem probe the heart, Search the mind— To repay every man according to his ways, With the proper...
by Shira Schechter (Moderator) | f 13, 2023 | Fear of God, Marriage and Relationships, Redemption, Responsibility, Shemot, Tests and Trials
By Adam Eliyahu Berkowitz Everyone is familiar with the phrase, “Behind every great man is an even greater woman.” In the case of Moses, it took far more than one woman to help him achieve greatness. Moses did, in fact, require six amazing women to help him become the...
by Shira Schechter (Moderator) | f 11, 2022 | Education, Vayeishev
I was the chef at a Jerusalem steak house with a modest reputation for several years. A young man came to the restaurant one day looking for a job. He had just completed a relatively expensive one-year course at a local cooking school but other than that, he needed to...
by Shira Schechter (Moderator) | f 12, 2022 | Messiah, Passover, Redemption, Va'eira
At the Passover Seder, Jews are obligated to drink four cups of wine while leaning to the left. The Mishnah (Pesachim 10:1) states that even the poor are obliged to drink the four cups. Each cup is imbibed at a specific point in the Seder. The first is for Kiddush...
by Eliyahu Berkowitz | f 23, 2021 | Antisemitism, Shemot
Antisemitism has been around since biblical times, and it continues to rear its ugly head today. The earliest recorded instance of such hatred can be found in the first chapter of the Book of Exodus. In the biblical narrative, Pharaoh becomes increasingly alarmed that...
