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7 Sivan Are we willing to grow? This week as we celebrate Shavuot (Pentecost in Greek), I was reminded of my experience when I got married. Our sages say that this period is a time of immense joy, which is why it is called a Chag, a celebration. We have reached our goal of counting […]
29 Iyar Can I be counted on? Understanding how something works is not the same as “making” it work. It reminds me of a quote I heard from my friend, Miriam: “I eat healthy – in my mind”. It sounds funny but I can remember thinking like that. Over the course of our lives, we […]
22 Iyar Holiness is Giving “Do not give what is sacred to the dogs, lest they turn against you and tear you to pieces; do not throw your pearls to swine, lest they trample them underfoot.” (Mattityahu 7:6). “Then the Lord said to Cain: Where is your brother Abel? And he replied: I don’t […]
8 Iya Deciding to Live What is life? What is death? Consciousness? Unconsciousness? These questions remind me of the words of a song performed by Kansas, an alternative rock band when I was young; it says, “all we are is dust in the wind”. I believe this idea falls short because it refers to the […]
The Power of the Tongue 1 Iyar “I will put enmity between you and the woman and between your seed and hers; it shall bruise your head and you’ll bruise his heel”. Bereshit 3:15 Parashat Tazria Metzora develops a theme which, from the beginning of creation has been a […]
24 Nisan Parashat Shemini begins “and it came to pass on the eighth day” but what had happened during the prior seven days? For that we have to go back to the end of the last parashah, Tzav where Aaron and his four sons were told not to leave the Tent for seven days and […]
Excerpt Taken from Ranebi’s Message on Nisan 17, 5780 Pesach: A Festival of Thanksgiving From Exodus 34:6-7, where the LORD is speaking to Moshe, our sages have drawn a beautiful teaching called “The 13 Attributes of the Bore Olam”. Let’s examine them and put them into today’s context. ו וַיַּעֲבֹר יְהוָה עַל-פָּנָיו, וַיִּקְרָא, יְהוָה יְהוָה, אֵל […]
10 Nisan Shabbat HaGadol To Obey or not to Obey, that is the Question. Tzav means “command”. Our Creator was commanding His people Israel and here, specifically Moshe, his brother, Aaron the Cohen HaGadol, and his sons. This one word alludes to the fact that we have Free Will. God wouldn’t command us to […]
Nisan 3 Taken from Ranebi’s message on Vayikra 5780 Can you sense that God is calling you? This third book of the Torah is Sefer Vayikra, known as Leviticus, and also called the Sefer HaCohanim, the […]
Is God Hidden from us Today? Prior to writing this message for Shabbat, a verse written in the letter to the Hebrews constantly came to my mind. It says: “GOD, having spoken at many times and in many ways at another time…” (Hebrews 1:1). This led me to meditate on how often God speaks to […]
