Category: March 2020

Wherever we are when the sun sets on Friday, it’s Shabbos By Chandrea Serebro When Rabbi and Bella Grynhaus and their family decided to take a long weekend in Swaziland to experience the beauty of nature and the simplicity of being out in the African air, they thought it would be from the scenic vista of their accommodation, or at best, while on a Sunday morning walk. But, what started as an ideal way to extend their trip and have more time to enjoy the tranquillity of the scenic surroundings…

Read More

He went to Israel for a yeshiva experience, he never expected to experience the inside of an Israeli prison By Chandrea Serebro Imagine a yeshiva bochur. He is a good boy in Israel learning for the year. He is not yet 18 years old. He has no money, no family in Israel, and he is just trying to enjoy the experience, despite being a bit homesick. One day, in the middle of a gemara shiur, his rabbi calls him out of the class. Outside waiting for him, he finds the…

Read More

Recipes from my Bobba and Mother By: Lauren Boolkin It seems bizarre to be writing about Pesach in January, but in truth it’s a blessing. The key to enjoying the chag is to start thinking about it way in advance and definitely straight after Purim. Although you cannot “change over” your kitchen, you can certainly spring clean the rest of your house. Just implement the no food in bedrooms rule and you are well on your way. I also like to keep a stock book where I write down the…

Read More

Owning the story, before giving it over By: Rabbi Dovid Samuels Who’s listening, anyway? If we look for the festival of Pesach in the Torah, we will not find it referred to as ‘Pesach’, but rather as Chag HaMatzos – the festival of Matzos. Rabbi Levi Yitzchak of Berditchev[1] explains that when we mention Pesach, we refer to it by praising the greatness of Hashem as He passed (pasach) over the Jewish houses in Egypt. However, when Hashem mentions Pesach in His Torah, He refers to it as the Festival…

Read More

Society asks that we be perfect, but there’s a tremendous value in making mistakes along the way and learning from them By Maria Beider, MSW How often do we hear expressions like “Strive for excellence” or a variation quoted in our everyday lives? When did excellence become an end goal and an aspiration? Being excellent places tremendous pressure on an individual and may cause untold anxiety. If one is deemed excellent, one must constantly continue to live up to that elite standard, with no respite. Moreover, it is not uncommon…

Read More

Can I pour you another? By: Robert Sussman Who doesn’t know the Mah Nishtana? Every child learns it in school so he can give his parents nachas when he recites it at the seder. We ask about the matzah; we ask about the maror; we ask about the dippings; and we even ask about the leaning. But why don’t we bother to ask about the four cups of wine that we have at the seder, “…on all other nights, we are not obligated to drink even one cup of wine,…

Read More

It’s one of the most famous episodes in the Haggadah, but why were all of those famous Rabbis gathered in Bnei Brak together? By: Robert Sussman The Haggadah famously speaks of the five Rabbis who gathered in Bnei Brak for the Pesach seder – Rabbi Eliezer, Rabbi Yehoshua, Rabbi Elazar ben Azariah, Rabbi Akiva, and Rabbi Tarfon – and who spent the entire night discussing the going out from Egypt, until their students came to inform them that the time had come for the morning reading of the shema –…

Read More

This year in Jerusalem? By: Rabbi Dr Dovid Fox When the Army transport plane crash-landed, apparently an attempt at sabotage by Axis agents, the American soldiers were glad to be alive. The fire which engulfed the aircraft was extinguished by the primitive means available at this desert airfield. Having left their bases in Morocco and in Libya, the soldiers were shaken, yet excited about seeing yet another North African country, although still wary of the enemies who were moving closer to the Allied installations, and still uncertain of the domestic…

Read More

Just what makes the wicked son so awful? By: Robert Sussman In the Jewish world, the Four Sons and their questions are even more famous than the Fab Four. Each of the questions that gets attributed to a different son comes straight out of the text of the Chumash: The Chacham (Wise Son): “What are the testimonies, ordinances, and laws that Hashem, our G-d, has commanded you?” The Rasha (Wicked Son): “What is this avodah (service) to you?” The Tam (Simple Son): “What is this?” The fourth son doesn’t actually…

Read More