From the Rabbi's Desk

THE GIVING AND RECEIVING OF THE LAW

In a little town near Safed there lived an elderly couple. The husband was a farmer and he tilled, plowed and worked on the soil the whole year. He was too poor to employ someone else to help him with his hard work, and so he carried on himself, doing all that was necessary, and there was always a lot to be done on the farm.

One day a letter arrived for him, but as his eyes had grown weak...Read more...

There are two terms that appear in this week's Torah reading (Perashat Emor) that every single Jew should know.

The two terms appear together in one sentence at the end of chapter twenty-two of Vayika. The first one is: “vilo tichalelu et shem kodshi” - you shall not desecrate My holy Name, and the other which appears in the same sentence is: “vinikdashti bitoch biney Yisrael” - so that I may be sanctified in the midst
of...Read more...

YOM HAATZMAUT
THE 70th YEAR OF
ISRAEL INDEPENDENCE

Many people think that Jewish Law does not change. That is not true. As situations change, Jewish Law changes. I am going to prove this to you by looking at two legal decisions. One comes from the second century; the other comes from our own time.

The first passage comes from the Talmud, from Masechet Shabbat. The Sages are discussing the question of what are you...Read more...