Your השקפה – hashkafa is your level of observance/philosophy towards your Jewish practice. This has been seriously highlighted (highlit?) in my life lately. Really ever since I came to Jerusalem. Being on a path to increased observance for almost 12 years, there have been subtle changes to my hashkafa and some less subtle ones. Subtle – realizing all the sudden one day that I am not as comfortable as I have been in the past singing or dancing in front... Read more
I am on a journey. We know the journey never ends. At least that is what all the stories and moshuls* and cliche’s tell us. It’s not the destination, it’s the journey. Every step along the way provides new cognizance, illumination, and often times erudition of ideas. I have lived 30 long years. Nothing in my life was given or taken in halves. When life was really mamish** good, it was good and when it was bad… it was mamish... Read more
Sukkot in Jerusalem is really a sight to be seen. There are sukkahs on top of sukkahs. Every restaurant has one on the street (why? because men especially must eat all their food in a sukkah, if that is your minhag [tradition] and if a restaurant wants to be open during sukkot, they have to have a sukkah for these guys) and walking home at night, you see these beautiful booths lit up on every street. As soon as Yom... Read more
All of the holidays in Israel are somewhat of a surreal experience. This is especially the case for any of us who come from towns, cities, or places where we aren’t surrounded by Jews constantly. If you live in Crown Heights or Boro Park or Williamsburg or even the Pico/Robertson area in LA… you are surrounded by Jews. You don’t feel like a minority but in Vero Beach, Florida or Broomfield, Colorado… you would be hard pressed to find someone... Read more
Prior to coming back to Jerusalem this summer, I had a very fuzzy but definitive picture of Jerusalem in my mind. It was built upon memories from the mind of 16 year old me. From the time I came to Jerusalem for the fall semester of my junior year of high school… 13 years ago. There were landmarks in my mind… Ben Yehuda street, Hebrew Union College/Beit Shmuel, King David street, the YMCA, Jabotinsky street, Independence Park… along with less... Read more
The Laws of Sukkah According to Dr. Seuss You can build it very small 1 You can build it very tall 2 You can build it very large 3 You can build it on a barge You can build it on a ship 4 Or on a roof but please don’t slip 5 You can build it in an alley 6 You shouldn’t build it in a valley 7 You can build it on a wagon 8 You can build... Read more
A short walk to the Kotel for Shabbat. Read more
There was a moment when I seriously thought I would have to sleep on the sidewalk in Jerusalem and never find my Yeshiva... Read more
Read about the author's adventure in getting to Israel, all the twists and turns of a facinating adventure. Read more
Today truly marks the saddest day in Judaism. From the destruction of our Holy Temple (twice) to the defeat of Bar Kochba, to the Crusades and the events that laid the ground work for the Holocaust... today is a day of sadness and fasting for Jews all over the world. Read more
Modern Midrash
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