Tagged mitzvot

Rabbi’s corner: Lighting the world

Benzion Shemtov

I would like to share with you a thought on a mitzvah that recently took on a particularly dear meaning to me. As my daughter turns 3 years of age today, she begins to light her very own Shabbos candle, brightening the world each Friday evening. Married women have… Read more »

Needs of others, and of G-d, at root of performing mitzvot

Rabbi Ephraim Zimmerman

Picture this: The day at work is almost over and, remembering that you need to pick up some groceries, you mention to your coworker that you’ll be stopping at Sprouts on the way home. Her ears perk up and she asks you for a favor. She’s been wanting to… Read more »

Oro Valley teen to receive Zehngut award

Rachel Knox

Rachel Knox will receive the 2012 Bryna Zehngut Mitzvot Award, which honors an outstanding Jewish teenage girl, at the Women’s Philanthropy Connections brunch on Feb. 19. The award, which honors a late community leader, was created by the advisory council of Women’s Philanthropy of the Jewish Federation of Southern… Read more »

Roots in heaven: the upside down tree

Rabbi Israel Becker

“Shema Yisroel, Listen Israel!” are the first words uttered by the Kohane, or Jewish priest, in his inspirational speech to the soldiers of Israel before going into battle (Deuteronomy 20:2-3). The purpose of these words was to capture each soldier’s attention. The great medieval French Torah commentator, Rashi (Rabbi… Read more »