When the U.S. Army liberated Buchenwald concentration camp and began administering to the survivors, Rabbi Herschel Schachter, then chaplain of the U.S. Eighth army, stayed in the camp to attempt to create a Jewish experience for them. more

Chapter 24 describes the immediate events preceding Moshe’s trek to the mountain for forty days and nights. Aharon, Nadav, Avihu and the seventy elders accompany Moshe as he is about to commence his hike up the mountain. more

Parashat Yitro is preeminently the parasha of the Aseret Hadibrot (The Ten Commandments). The great Jewish philosopher and biblical exegete, Rabbeinu Saadiah Gaon (882-942), suggests in his Sefer Hamitzvot (Book of the Commandments) that the Aseret Hadibrot are actually a summary of all of the 613 Torah commandments more

As an introduction to the events that will unfold on the mountain, God tells Moshe to tell the people that they will soon become a kingdom of priests and a holy nation to God. (19:5-6) more

Dedicated to the sacred memories of my sister-in-law, Ruchama Rivka Sondra, my sister, Shulamit bat Menachem, and Shifra bat Chaim Alter, and the refuah shlaimah of Yosef Shmuel ben Miriam and Yehonatan Binyamin Halevy ben Golda Frieda more

One of the greatest gifts we have in this world is the ability to make choices in our lives. Though sometimes, we might wish we didn’t have to make those choices. more

After the splitting of the sea, the people begin to settle into their wilderness existence, and become the recipients of a daily dose of manna from heaven. more

One of the most fascinating aspects of the Torah is the interweaving of “ethical” and “ritual” laws. For example, at the beginning of Parashat Kedoshim, we are met with the general commandment to be “holy,” the mitzvah of Kibud Av v’Am (parental respect), and almost immediately thereafter by laws referring to sacrificial offerings. The juxtaposition of these commandments contains a vital message, namely, “ethics” and “ritual” are inseparable. Together they form the constitutive elements from which Judaism is fashioned. more

What does it mean to truly live in, to truly be in a moment? One day, when we are all up in heaven, perhaps I will have the chance to ask Noam Apter, 22, of Otniel. more

When one reads through Shmot Chapter 12, it becomes quite clear that blood will play a significant role in bringing about the salvation of the Hebrew slaves at the midnight hour when Egypt will be struck its most devastating blow. more