1310 essays
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Essays on the weekly Torah portion, the holidays and Jewish thought.
Holidays KADESH – 15 Steps of the Seder (Part 2) We open each Seder with recitation of the Kiddush, just as we do at the onset of every Shabbat and major Jewish holiday. During… Holidays KARPAS – 15 Steps of the Seder (Part 4) The third step, Karpas, consists of dipping a vegetable in salt water. (Customs vary as to which vegetable is used. In some… Holidays KOREICH – 15 Steps of the Seder (Part 11) The creation of a sandwich is attributed by some to an 18th century English aristocrat. As Jews, we know that it goes back at… Holidays MAAGID – 15 Steps of the Seder (Part 6) The tone has been set. We know that we are holy. We know that we have the need to cleanse ourselves by allowing the holiness we… Holidays MARROR – 15 Steps of the Seder (Part 10) After we have internalized the dynamic and liberating force of G-dly awareness, it would seem that we should be able to revel in… Holidays MATZA – 15 Steps of the Seder (Part 9) In the next step of the Seder, we recite a blessing that praises G-d for giving us the Mitzvah/commandment to eat Matzah. In other… Holidays MOTZIE – 15 Steps of the Seder (Part 8) After washing our hands, we begin the process of internalizing the message of spiritual freedom by eating the Matzah. However,… Holidays NIRTZA – 15 Steps of the Seder (Part 16) Unlike the previous 14 steps, this last and final step does not manifest itself in any prayer or action. We have reached a point… Holidays RACHTZA – 15 Steps of the Seder (Part 7) Before we partake of the Matzah, we wash our hands a second time. If washing the first time was about removing the impurities that… Holidays SHULCHAN OREICH – 15 Steps of the Seder (Part 12) A “set table” is a reference to the festival meal that we are obliged to eat every Shabbat and Jewish Holiday. But the festive… Holidays TZAFUN – 15 Steps of the Seder (Part 13) Following the meal, we eat the Afikoman (the larger half of the middle Matzah that we broke and then hid away in Yachatz). Tzofon… Holidays U'RCHATZ – 15 Steps of the Seder (Part 3) Washing the Hands After reciting the Kiddush, we wash our hands before dipping a vegetable in salt water, the next item of the… Holidays YACHATZ- 15 Steps of the Seder (Part 5) The fourth—yet still preliminary—step is the breaking of the middle Matzah. We break the Matzah at this point because it sets the… Chassidus A Woman’s Hair: A Chassidic Perspective The Torah requires that a woman’s hair be covered. What is so wrong with it being exposed? And why is a shaitel – which can some… G-d G-d And The Holocaust: What Is The Question? Where was G-d during the Holocaust? How could let it happen? How can one believe in a G-d that allowed Auschwitz? These and… Chassidus Graduation And Moshiach Every transition from one level to another, by definition, consists of both the level from which one is graduating, as well as the… Judaism Je Suis Juif The tragic events of the few weeks are a clarion call – or, in the Jewish vernacular, the “Call of the Shofar”—to the entire… Judaism Jewish Messianism: A Logical Mystery What is the common thread that runs through materialistic, secular ideologies and religious and mystical beliefs? It is the belief… Judaism Judaism: A Religion Of Paradoxes Judaism is a religion of paradoxes. In truth, Judaism is not really a religion. It is a non-religious religion, or a religious-non… Judaism Judaism’s Contribution To Medicine With the explosion of scientific discoveries in all fields, particularly in the medical sphere, in recent times, it behooves us as…