Discomfort is potentially the most powerful fuel for growth. No one likes to feel uncomfortable and when we do, we generally try to change the situation that causes it.
25Sep
19Jul
The Inner Dimensions of the 17th of Tammuz and the 3 weeks
By Rabbi Johnny Kersh The 17th of Tammuz is a day on the Jewish calendar, marred by several national calamities, of which we make no secret. Among them: the worshipping of The Golden Calf, the smashing of the first of the sets of the Ten Commandments, the Babylonian siege of Jerusalem, when it’s once ‘impenetrable’…
16Apr
(C)leaning Toward Freedom
By: Yafo Mardakhayeva In my native language, the word for the holiday of Pesach is known as Nisonu, obviously taken from the month in which it belongs, Nisan. Even if the Soviet Union tried to dismantle Judaism for the far away Jews of the Caucasus’, our redemption will come from the frenzy that goes on…
16Apr
Did Someone Say “Seder”?
By: Boris Braverman Do you remember your first Pesach? I do. I was a young child, 4-5 years old at the time. My family, like many of yours, had recently emigrated from the Soviet Union. We were getting by everyday with the dreams and hopes that your rigorous efforts to move were not in vain…
16Apr
It’s no secret among those who know me well:
By: Fanya Donin It’s no secret among those who know me well, that Pesach (Passover), has never been on my list of favorite holidays. Yes, the Zionist story is a good one. Yes, the Jewish people overcoming seemingly insurmountable odds in order to become a nation is inspiring. But still, I don’t associate the same…
20Mar
Purim Perspective from a Millennial
By: Fanya DoninRaje Manhattan 2018-2019 The Jewish holiday of Purim is quickly approaching, and I honestly couldn’t be more excited. We commemorate how the Jewish nation was saved from the wicked Haman who had planned to kill us all. And growing up, I always found the best part of the story to be that the…
20Mar
Purim- Analysis of Haman’s Ten Sons
By: Danielle Ostrovsky Raje Manhattan 2018-2019 When one opens up any book of historical significance, one is not only putting him or herself in the context of a basic plotline; rather, one is immersing him or herself in the many layers and secrets that is contained within the period of time. One book that not…
29Mar
Patterns of Evidence: The Exodus
by Timothy P Mohoney What is the validity of history found in the Bible? Is it fact or fiction? What does the hard evidence really have to say about the foundational story of the Old Testament: the Exodus out of Egypt? An in-depth investigation by documentary filmmaker Tim Mahoney searches for answers to these questions…
26Feb
Stalin and the Purim Miracle
by Barbara Penn Stalin had plans to murder millions of Russian Jews. Like Haman, the tables suddenly turned. Jewish holidays are not merely a commemoration of an event in time. The time of year in which the a miracle occurred was an opportune time for the conception of that miracle. As we make our way toward…
07Oct
Sukkot For Our Time
By: Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks (extract from Koren Sacks Sukkot mahzor) Of all the festivals, Sukkot is surely the one that speaks most powerfully to our time. Kohelet could almost have been written in the twenty first century. Here is the ultimate success, the man who has it all – the houses, the cars, the clothes,…