Category: April 2016

The Astounding True Case Of Jerusalem Syndrome By Ilan Preskovsky In Neil Gaiman’s latest short story collection, Trigger Warning: Short Fictions and Disturbances, among the master fantasist’s usual assortment of tales of werewolves, hellhounds, and Time Lords, there is a singularly disturbing story about a middle-aged British couple who, on their first visit to Jerusalem, come face-to-face with a particularly strange kind of insanity; an intensely religious, messianic delusional state that is caused by nothing less than the city itself. Unlike the rest of the stories around it, though, the…

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The Explanation Behind A Mysterious Revolution In Human Behaviour By: Professor Nathan Aviezer One of the most interesting subjects in our Holy Torah is the creation of Man. We read in Genesis 1:27: Elokim created man in His image; in the image of Elokim, He created him; male and female, He created them. However, the origin of Man is described again in the second chapter of Genesis (2:7): HaShem Elokim formed man from the dust of the earth, and He breathed into his nostrils the soul of life, and man…

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Can we learn to live with questions?   By: David Levin Throughout history, the wisdom of Torah has often come into conflict with the wisdom of the secular, natural sciences. The fact is these two spheres of study appear to contradict each other in many, many ways. These contradictions are not new and neither are the approaches people have taken when confronted by these contradictions. Rather than discuss ways to approach specific contradictions, I’d like to discuss in general terms how to deal with these contradictions. Almost all people can…

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A Post-Pesach Moroccan Celebration Of Freedom, Faith, And Fortune By Chandrea Serebro Sephardi Jews have an incredibly rich heritage, liberally peppered with all things spicy and spiritual. And Pesach is no exception, where you’ll find a Moroccan tradition to lovingly prepare the first chometz that is eaten after the end of Pesach into traditional breads and sweet cakes, rather than just waiting in line to get the first piece of pizza you can get your hands on. It’s a night of feasting filled with all things anti-banting: baked goods as…

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Taking a fresh look at Aliyah By Chandrea Serebro Exodus. The very word inspires images of an epic journey across deserts and through seas, of a liberated people on the cusp of nationhood. And it resonates particularly for us South Africans, who relive it each year at the Pesach seder along with Jews everywhere, but who perhaps toy with the idea a bit more often than most others who reside outside that most holy of places. Making Aliyah obviously comes with great sacrifice, giving up the great South African legacy…

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Arriving At An Answer To The Question: Why? By: Dovid Samuels One of the most powerful and famous events in Jewish history has to be the grand finale of the exodus from Egypt. After 10 terrifying plagues that broke a nation, the fury of their hatred led the Egyptians to wage one final attack against us. The battleground was perhaps the most perilous for the Jewish people; deep waters in front of us, desert and beasts to our sides, and a raging army striding towards us with unbridled animosity. With…

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Why Hashem Chose To Redeem Us In Nisan By: Robert Sussman   The Hebrew month of Nisan is, without a doubt, a very special month. After all, it’s the month that Hashem chose to take us out from Egypt and openly reveal to the world, for the first time in history, that He was its Creator and demonstrate His total and utter control over every aspect of Creation via the many miracles that He did for us. In fact, Moshe’s father-in-law, Yisro, who was known for having studied all of…

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