Yom Kippur Poem

VisionsMy eyes toward visions of God I raiseThough inner shadows obstruct my gazeAnd feet that would upon God’s path have treadLead me far away from Him instead. My God, I pray, do let Your wisdom’s lightRelieve me of the burden of my plightTake heed of my sincere...

Treasure – A Random Poetic Selection

My Treasure A treasure not sought after much By elderly or youth; A beauty not admired as such By primitive or couth. The satisfaction she provides Is not for sale in stores; No advertisements or bromides No international tours. The cynics and the skeptics doubt What...

Tisha B’av Repost

I just revisited one of my posts from last year on the topic of Fasting and Mourning. I probably should have drawn attention to it earlier given its relevance to the observance of Tisha B’av, but I suppose it is better late than...

Tisha B’av Letter 5769

Last year, I posted the Tisha B’av message that I sent to my community on my blog. This year, I am posting a different message – this is the response I sent to an email that was distributed by one of the respected administrators of the Jewish Federation of...

Is The Ninth of Av a Holiday?

One of the most fascinating practices of Tisha B’av is the omission of tahanunim. Typically, these more somber sections of prayer are omitted on festive occasions but are expanded and elaborated upon on fast days. We would expect that on Tisha B’av, the...

Anger and Error

The Sages observe that, each time the Torah describes Moshe Rabbenu getting angry, he is also depicted as erring in his conduct or making a mistake in his application of halakha. The final instance of this is provided in Parashat Mattot, wherein Moshe Rabbenu becomes...
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