Efrat, Israel – “The land must not be sold permanently, because the land is mine and you reside in my land as foreigners and strangers” (Lev.25:23). “You must not defile the Land upon which you live and in the midst of which I (God) dwell, since I (God), dwell in the midst of the children [ Read More...]

Efrat, Israel – “On the fifteenth day of this month there shall be the festival of matzot for the Lord; for seven days shall you eat matzot” (Leviticus 23:7,8). Over the last few weeks, Israel has been through its cycle of commemorative days, taking us through the roller-coaster of emotions as we mourn the victims [ Read More...]

By Rabbi A. James Rudin (RNS) — Mainline Protestant churches—Methodists, Presbyterians, Episcopalians and others — were once the church of the establishment but are now rapidly losing both members and influence in a downward spiral with no end in sight. For decades, mainline churches partnered with Jews on a host of social justice issues, but [ Read More...]

Efrat, Israel — During the majestic and magical evening of the seder, how many matzot does the leader of the proceedings take, two or three? And how many cups of wine do the participants drink, four or five? I daresay the overwhelming majority of my readers will respond: three matzot and four cups of wine. But [ Read More...]

Efrat, Israel – “…An individual who will sacrifice from yourself a sacrificial offering unto the Lord…” (Leviticus 1:2) My teacher and mentor Rav Joseph B. Soloveitchik ztz”l would often speak of the two great Biblical mountains, Mt. Moriah where G-d sent Abraham to sacrifice his beloved son Isaac, and Mt. Sinai, from which G-d presented [ Read More...]

Efrat, Israel — “Bezalel made the ark…He made two cherubs of gold…at the two ends of the cover…The cherubs had their wings spreading out upwards… with their faces turned towards each other…” (Exodus 37:1-9). This week’s Biblical portion repeats the detailed construction of the Tabernacle, including the protective cover of the Holy Ark, which featured [ Read More...]

Efrat, Israel — “Do not make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land to which you are going, lest they be a snare in your midst. . . lest you make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land, and stray after their gods, you take of their daughters for your sons, and their daughters [ Read More...]

Efrat, Israel — “And He did not stretch out His hand against the aristocrats of the children of Israel; they gazed at G-d and they ate and they drank” (Exodus 24: 11). What is the best way to worship G-d? Does G-d prefer ascetic fasts and physical deprivation or celebration through food, wine, song and [ Read More...]

Efrat, Israel – Whose Torah is it anyway? “Now I (Jethro) know that Hashem is greater than all g-ds…” (Exodus 18:11). Is it not strange that the very Biblical portion which records G-d’s revelation to the Israelites — indeed, the religio-legal covenant between the Almighty and His chosen people — begins with, and is named in [ Read More...]

Efrat, Israel – Israel saw the great hand that G-d inflicted on Egypt and the people revered G-d and they had faith in G-d and in Moses His servant (Exodus 14:31). In this week’s Parsha, we read of one of the greatest miracles of all, the splitting of the Red Sea. It was a moment [ Read More...]