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?"
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"
Our Parasha begins with a command:“Moses convoked the whole Israelite community and said to them: These are the things that G-d has commanded you to do.” וַיַּקְהֵ֣ל מֹשֶׁ֗ה אֶת־כׇּל־עֲדַ֛ת בְּנֵ֥י יִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל וַיֹּ֣אמֶר אֲלֵהֶ֑ם אֵ֚לֶּה הַדְּבָרִ֔ים אֲשֶׁר־צִוָּ֥ה ה׳ לַעֲשֹׂ֥ת אֹתָֽם׃(Shemot 35:1) He then continues by explaining that Shabbat must be kept as a complete day of …
Continue reading "Making the Shabbat… Parashat Vayakhel–Pekudei"
The idea that a person can genuinely experience “mixed” feelings is relatively new.Well into the 20th century, many psychologists believed that positive and negative emotions existed only sequentially. Researchers assumed that one could not feel good and bad at the same time. Even today, people often speak about happiness and unhappiness in this way—as if …
Continue reading "Jethro, the man who discovered “mixed feelings”… Shabbat Kodesh – Parashat Yitro"