Jewish Congregation Adass Yisroel, Berlin (Public Corporation)
Can a disabled Kohen "work" in the Beit Hamikdash? The disabled Kohen is mentioned in great detail in Parshat Emor. While he can get many of the benefits the priests receive (He is on the "Paylist".) He can not serve as a full team member in the Beit Hamikdash, and is restricted to very limited activities in the …
Continue reading "For in the Image of G´d was Humankind Made"
In the large synagogue in Munich, people prayed every day at dawn, at half past six. Most of the worshippers were, so to speak, "graduates" of the extermination camps, most of whose families were murdered in the Holocaust. On religious holidays, at "Yiskor", almost all the worshippers (there were still several hundred of them) said …
Inviting people late in the day... and other ideas for the Seder night The first words of the Seder (After kiddush) are "Ha Lachma Anya": הָא לַחְמָא עַנְיָא דִּי אֲכָלוּ אַבְהָתָנָא בְאַרְעָא דְמִצְרָיִם. כָּל דִכְפִין יֵיתֵי וְיֵיכֹל, כָּל דִצְרִיךְ יֵיתֵי וְיִפְסַח "Ha Lachma - This is the bread of destitution that our ancestors ate in the land …
Shabbat Kodesh Parashat Shemini / Shabbat Hachodesh We will read this week: וַיָּבֹ֨א מֹשֶׁ֤ה וְאַהֲרֹן֙ אֶל־אֹ֣הֶל מוֹעֵ֔ד וַיֵּ֣צְא֔וּ וַֽיְבָרְכ֖וּ אֶת־הָעָ֑ם וַיֵּרָ֥א כְבוֹד־יְהֹוָ֖ה אֶל־כׇּל־הָעָֽם׃ “Moses and Aaron then went inside the Tent of Meeting. When they came out, they blessed the people; and the Presence of G'd appeared to all the people.” The translation fails to recognise a very interesting point in the …
Purim 5784 At this point in time, we are trying to keep our spirits up, maintain a smile on my face - and even share a joke with friends. I am challenged however, whether at a time of hardship for many people in Eretz Israel, this is appropriate ? Well, I think it is. And allow me to …
Shabbat Kodesh Parashat Pekudei I never understood why it was important to spend precious "Torah Time" thousands of years after it happened, on the total accounting and "balance sheet" of the donations and spending in the "Project Mishkan", the building the Tabernacle. The traditional Torah commentators have indeed very little to explain on the second part of this week's Parsha. …
Shabbat Kodesh Parashat Terumá Modern day commentators like to quote the following idea from the Rambam's "Guide to the perplexed", on why we were ever instructed to bring animals as sacrifice to the Beit Hamikdash, the Temple in Jerusalem: „It was in accordance with the wisdom and plan of G'd, as displayed in the whole Creation, …
Shabbat Kodesh Parashat Mishpatim / Rosh Chodesh וְגֵ֥ר לֹא־תוֹנֶ֖ה וְלֹ֣א תִלְחָצֶ֑נּוּ כִּֽי־גֵרִ֥ים הֱיִיתֶ֖ם בְּאֶ֥רֶץ מִצְרָֽיִם׃ You shall not wrong or oppress a stranger, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt. Why do we need the reason : "for you were strangers in the land of Egypt" and if we would have not been "strangers in …
All of us know the famous statement Rabbi Akiva made : "This is a great principle of the Torah: ‚Love your neighbor as yourself`". So - as it is what he describes as a "Great principle" in the Torah, why is it not mentioned in the ten commandments ? Many years ago, as a teenager, …
Continue reading "Why only ten…Shabbat Kodesh Parashat Yitró"
Shabbat Kodesh Parshat Beshalach The Shira - Song of faith- was sung by Bnei Yisrael as they emerged from the red sea. It is so important that we say it every morning. However, Chazal tell us that when the angels asked for permission to have their own turn in thanking G’d for the miracle of …