Essays
Mystical Meals
One can fulfill G-d’s will while eating by allowing his body, his soul, and the food to be dominated by a transcendent perspective.
Read MoreThe First Creation
The mitzvah of kiddush hachodesh, sanctification of the new month, as “the first mitzvah commanded to the Jewish people.”
Read MoreTorah In The Winter
On Simchat Torah we read Vezot Haberachah in conclusion of the annual Torah-reading cycle. It is the day of rejoicing the Torah, but not of receiving it.
Read MoreTerms of Termination
The literal and figurative implications of the Hebrew word “hashbatah,” which means “terminate,” are debated by Talmudic sages Rabbi Judah and Rabbi Shimon.
Read MoreThe Eighth Dimension
The natural and spiritual dimensions of the numbers seven and eight are discussed from a Kabbalistic point of view.
Read MoreDestroying the World
Drawing on the wisdom of the Oral Torah and the Zohar, the ten utterances which created the world and the perfection of the number ten are expounded.
Read MoreThe Marriage Contract
Breaking the tablets symbolized a severing of the relationship between G-d and the Jewish people, an act which constitutes Moses’ greatest achievement
Read MoreFree Choice
Free choice is a “a fundamental principle” of Jewish faith according to Maimonides. Parshat Devarim addresses the apparent contradictions of this principle
Read MoreRedigging the Wells of Love
Abraham, Isaac and Jacob are the forefathers from whom we learn Jewish values. In Abraham we see a fountainhead of Jewish generosity and social commitment.
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