Rabbi Israel Becker There is a specific kosher law pertaining to sirloin steak and filet mignon that contains a hidden message about miracles and survival. This law actually dates back to a dramatic episode recorded in the Torah, when our patriarch Jacob, returning to Israel with his young and large family, was… Read more »
Rabbi Yossie Shemtov By the time you read this column, results of the 2014 midterm elections in the United States will already be announced, reported, chewed over and, depending on your political affiliation, celebrated or bemoaned. “Every single thing that a person sees or hears, is an instruction to him in his… Read more »
Rabbi Samuel M. Cohon Can a land require a Sabbath, too? The Jewish answer is yes. This calendar year of 5775 is a special time in our tradition: it marks the sabbatical year, the shmittah. In Exodus, Leviticus, and Deuteronomy we are commanded to harvest crops only for the first six years of… Read more »
Rabbi Robert Eisen What a summer this has been! It began with an unprecedented number of congregations sponsoring missions to Israel, and then spent most of its days holding us captive to the news, wondering just what might be. Thoughts of falafel, shawarma and coffee like no other in the world gave… Read more »
Rabbi Batsheva Appel Participating in sports is an important part of our children’s lives. When Bruce Feiler recently wrote in The New York Times about how the “youth sports juggernaut” is taking over the lives of families, I think he touched a nerve. His article, “There’s No Off in This Season,” shares… Read more »
Rabbi Ben Herman We have now reached the series of Torah portions that is a mathematician’s dream. After all, this section of the Torah is called Numbers! In Parshat B’midbar, a census is taken of the Israelite men of military age who would later conquer the Land of Canaan. The total count… Read more »
Rabbi Yossi Winner and his wife, Naomi, set up a Chabad tent on the University of Arizona mall each week. Every Tuesday, my wife, Naomi, and I sit on campus under a tent meeting with students as they pass by in between their classes. One such Tuesday, a few weeks ago, I encountered an individual holding a big sign that read, “You all deserve hell.” After about an hour,… Read more »
Rabbi Helen T. Cohn When asked, “What is your name?” we generally respond with our first name or perhaps our full legal name. But each of us has many names, and occasionally it is worthwhile to consider what they are and what they say about us. Our names reveal something about our origins… Read more »
Rabbi Ephraim Zimmerman Our Jewish history is extraordinary. According to the laws of nature, the course of our nation should have been drastically different. (You’ve probably gotten an email or two about this topic with the subject line reading FW: FW:). What is even more fascinating is that this incredible story was… Read more »
Rabbi Yehuda Ceitlin [Britta Van Vranken) There’s television footage currently going viral on the web showing a group of Chabad yeshiva students dancing on Interstate Highway 80 during a traffic jam. “I’ve been covering weather stories for 20 years now and never have I seen what we are about to show you,” said WPXI-TV/ Channel… Read more »
Rabbi Thomas Louchheim Happy New Year, my friends. I know that some of you are saying to fellow Jews, “Happy secular New Year,” as if perhaps we are unable to distinguish between Jan. 1 and Rosh Hashanah. And yet, I tell my congregants, we are fortunate to have two calendrical opportunities to… Read more »
Rabbi Israel Becker Names are very important in Judaism. When parents give a name to a child it should be carefully chosen. The names of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses and all the 12 tribes of Israel were specifically chosen not only to commemorate an event but to trigger a response within us… Read more »
Rabbi Stephanie Aaron On Nov. 19, 1863, with 270 words and in slightly more than two minutes, President Abraham Lincoln delivered the Gettysburg Address. Although he stated, “The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here,” those words were only… Read more »
Rabbi Samuel M. Cohon Back when I was a student at UCLA my college job was working part-time as a cantor, leading services Friday night and Saturday morning and all festivals. I was in a “Jewish fraternity,” AEPi, where I also lived. But that did not mean that all members of the house… Read more »
Rabbi Yossi Winner After watching countless students graduate with honors in their respective academic departments, I’ve found that above all the studies, perhaps the single most integral technique they’ve acquired is how to cram for an exam. A study I saw recently on time.com found that most students who cram typically only… Read more »
Rabbi Jason Holtz When I arrived in Tucson three years ago, I found synagogues filled with learning, service and community. I found Jewish agencies and nonprofits devoted to turning Jewish values into Jewish action. I found a compelling Federation centered on tzedakah, righteous giving, and tikkun olam, repairing the world. And… Read more »
Rabbi Ephraim Zimmerman Looking at the big picture, we may see a world where wars and hate are intensifying, homicides and suicides are on the rise, and peace is something humanity just can’t seem to figure out. Let’s look a little deeper. Let’s compare today’s day and age to a bygone era… Read more »
Rabbi Thomas Louchheim The central idea of the book of Leviticus has to do with k’dushah — separating things from other things — creating a holy boundary. Inside the Mishkan (tabernacle) are the holy things — those vessels and sacrifices the priests are taking care of. Outside are those things, animals and… Read more »
Ahh … Passover: • Chag HaMatzot — The Festival of Matzah • Chag HaPesach — The Festival of the Passover Offering • Chag HaAviv — The Spring Festival • Z’man Cheiruteinu — The Time of Our Freedom Z’man Cheiruteinu — The Time of Our Freedom. This is freedom? Cleaning… Read more »
Rabbi Ben Herman Surprise: It’s Happy New Year time again! Did you know that there are four Jewish new years, one of which, Rosh Chodesh Nissan, will occur this coming Tuesday, March 12? According to the first Mishnah in Tractate Rosh Hashanah: “The first of Nissan is the new year for kings… Read more »
