Jewish Congregation Adass Yisroel, Berlin (Public Corporation)
When around 160,000 Jews lived in Berlin – many of them for severalgenerations, with so few of their descendants still living here today – and whenBerlin still had a reasonably accessible housing market, many Jewish familieschose their homes not only according to location and rent. What could matterjust as much was whether the property management …
Continue reading "Between Heaven and Earth – What Does the Sukkah Teach Us?"
The Adass Jisroel community of Berlin is heir to a proud history. It was the great leaders of this community that were at the forefront of showing how one can live as a Torah Jew in the modern world. While times are obviously very different today than in the ninetenth century and the years before …
Continue reading "Adass Jisroel – A Living Legacy of Torah in the Modern World"
On Rosh Hashanah, the Yom HaDin, the shofar is sounded. This year, it will be sounded only on the second day, since the first day is Shabbat. The shofar is not an instrument of gentle sounds; it is a wake-up call that stirs the soul – this is how Jewish tradition has described it throughout …
We stand on the threshold of Rosh Hashanah, at an existential turning point. The Jewish year 5786 is drawing to a close, and the double Parasha Nitzavim-Vayeilech confronts us with the central questions of our identity: Who are we as individuals before G'd, and what is it that holds us together as a community? Two …
The current weather has brought the following story to my heat-affected mind... There is a well-known rabbinical story attributed to Rav Chaim Soloveitchik זצ"ל. Whenever corrupt Russian government officials threatened to close the Yeshivah, community activists resorted to the old method of bribing them in order to prevent the closure. This time, however, a new …
Continue reading "It Will Snow Tomorrow… Shabbat Kodesh – Parashat Chukat–Balak"
We read: “G-D spoke to Moses, saying: Send, if you wish, men to spy out the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the Children of Israel; send one man from each tribe of his fathers, every one a prince among them.” וַיְדַבֵּ֥ר ה' אֶל־מֹשֶׁ֥ה לֵּאמֹֽר׃ שְׁלַח־לְךָ֣ אֲנָשִׁ֗ים וְיָתֻ֨רוּ֙ אֶת־אֶ֣רֶץ כְּנַ֔עַן אֲשֶׁר־אֲנִ֥י נֹתֵ֖ן לִבְנֵ֣י …
Continue reading "Shabbat Kodesh Parashat Shelach Lecha: The “Good” Punishment …"
G-D spoke to Moses, saying: “Speak to Aaron and say to him: When you mount the lamps, let the seven lamps give light at the front of the lampstand.” וַיְדַבֵּ֤ר ה׳ אֶל־מֹשֶׁ֥ה לֵּאמֹֽר׃ דַּבֵּר֙ אֶל־אַהֲרֹ֔ן וְאָמַרְתָּ֖ אֵלָ֑יו בְּהַעֲלֹתְךָ֙ אֶת־הַנֵּרֹ֔ת אֶל־מוּל֙ פְּנֵ֣י הַמְּנוֹרָ֔ה יָאִ֖ירוּ שִׁבְעַ֥ת הַנֵּרֽוֹת׃ וַיַּ֤עַשׂ כֵּן֙ אַהֲרֹ֔ן אֶל־מוּל֙ פְּנֵ֣י הַמְּנוֹרָ֔ה הֶעֱלָ֖ה נֵרֹתֶ֑יהָ כַּאֲשֶׁ֛ר צִוָּ֥ה …
We find an interesting debate in the Talmud regarding Jewish festivals in general. How should a person divide the day? Should it be devoted entirely to G’d through learning and prayer, or should part of it be dedicated to natural human needs and, yes, physical enjoyment as well? Yet regarding Shavuot specifically, everyone agrees that …
We read the following verses: “You shall observe My laws and faithfully keep My rules, so that you may live securely on the land.” וַעֲשִׂיתֶם֙ אֶת־חֻקֹּתַ֔י וְאֶת־מִשְׁפָּטַ֥י תִּשְׁמְר֖וּ וַעֲשִׂיתֶ֣ם אֹתָ֑ם וִֽישַׁבְתֶּ֥ם עַל־הָאָ֖רֶץ לָבֶֽטַח׃ (Vayikra 25:18) “The land shall yield its fruit, you shall eat your fill, and you shall live upon it in security.” וְנָתְנָ֤ה …
Continue reading "Security – Shabbat Kodesh Behar–Bechukotai"
When we celebrate “Shabbat Rosh Chodesh,” we add the special “Hallel” prayer to the regular Shabbat Shacharit, and the Musaf is also adjusted to reflect that it is both Shabbat and Rosh Chodesh.However, this particular Rosh Chodesh Iyar also marks the beginning of the “Sefira” mourning period for the twenty-four thousand students of Rabbi Akiva …