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Parashat Shmini: Guarding a pure heart

BY RABBI SHMUEL RABINOWITZ — Fri, 10 Apr 2026 11:44:08 GMT

The Hebrew word timtum means “blockage” or “dullness.” Forbidden foods can lead to this blockage – to emotional numbness and a diminished ability to perceive spiritual depth.

Parashat Tzav: True freedom begins in the mind, not in physical circumstance

BY RABBI SHMUEL RABINOWITZ — Fri, 27 Mar 2026 12:02:20 GMT

Shabbat Hagadol is a time of inner preparation for the Festival of Freedom. On this Shabbat, we begin to think and act from a broader perspective.

Parashat Vayikra: Mutual responsibility

BY RABBI SHMUEL RABINOWITZ — Fri, 20 Mar 2026 12:00:00 GMT

Vayikra’s message of purity, repentance, and unity teaches that even without sacrifices, we can draw closer to God and to one another.

Shabbat Hachodesh: A time to cleanse and begin again

BY MICHAEL FREUND — Sat, 14 Mar 2026 11:00:00 GMT

Shabbat Hachodesh reminds us that national rebirth is not only a matter of borders, armies, and institutions. It is also a matter of values.

Parashat Vayakhel: A ‘kahal’ at war

BY MOSHE TARAGIN — Fri, 13 Mar 2026 12:00:00 GMT

As Israel faces its greatest challenges, the lessons of Vayakhel remind us of the power of unity in times of crisis.

Parashat Vayakhel-Pekudei: Wisdom of the wise

BY RABBI SHMUEL RABINOWITZ — Fri, 13 Mar 2026 12:00:00 GMT

“Give to the wise, and he will become yet wiser.”

Purification by fire: The red heifer and Iran

BY MICHAEL FREUND — Sat, 07 Mar 2026 03:55:37 GMT

The struggle against the Iranian regime is not simply another round in an endless regional rivalry. It is a confrontation with a force that has sown instability and death for decades.

Parashat Ki Tisa: Fear and the choice of courage

BY MOSHE TARAGIN — Fri, 06 Mar 2026 12:00:00 GMT

From the golden calf to today, fear tests us, but faith and courage show the way forward.

Parashat Ki Tisa: Sin of the golden calf and the test of patience

BY RABBI SHMUEL RABINOWITZ — Fri, 06 Mar 2026 12:00:00 GMT

Impatience at Sinai led to the golden calf, teaching that true faith and redemption demand patience, not glittering shortcuts.

Purim 2026: Celebrating with faith, fun, and resilience through the years

BY DAVID GEFFEN — Tue, 03 Mar 2026 13:01:11 GMT

From childhood groggers to Israel today, Purim reminds us of courage, joy, and the enduring fight against life’s Hamans.

Parashat Zachor: Remembering Amalek in every generation

BY RABBI SHMUEL RABINOWITZ — Fri, 27 Feb 2026 12:27:14 GMT

Amalek exploits spiritual weakness; Parashat Zachor calls on us to strengthen our identity and faith in every generation.

Parashat Teruma: Sanctifying the heart

BY RABBI SHMUEL RABINOWITZ — Fri, 20 Feb 2026 11:36:29 GMT

Each person is a walking Temple; each has the power to build a dwelling place for the Creator of the world within his or her heart.

Parashat Teruma: Religion in partial measures

BY MOSHE TARAGIN — Fri, 20 Feb 2026 11:26:37 GMT

Even the ark’s imperfect measurements teach a profound lesson: living God’s will is a human endeavor, full of effort, devotion, and partial success.

Parashat Mishpatim: All or nothing

BY RABBI SHMUEL RABINOWITZ — Fri, 13 Feb 2026 12:15:59 GMT

Loyalty to a path means saying, “I belong. Sometimes I will fail, sometimes I will err, but I am all in.” This is completely different from saying “I like this, but I don’t like that.”

Parashat Mishpatim: The long search for moral society

BY MOSHE TARAGIN — Fri, 13 Feb 2026 12:03:59 GMT

God’s will does more than guide individual behavior. It provides direction for building societies grounded in justice and compassion.

Parashat Yitro: Illuminating the fog

BY RABBI SHMUEL RABINOWITZ — Fri, 06 Feb 2026 12:46:55 GMT

Moses understood that genuine service of God is not found in thunder and lightning but rather in the place of fog, confusion, and lack of clarity.

Parashat Yitro: Before the revelation at Sinai

BY MOSHE TARAGIN — Fri, 06 Feb 2026 12:43:49 GMT

Whenever people are convinced that they are acting in the name of higher goals – especially when they believe they are serving God – moral boundaries become fragile.

What honoring our parents teaches us about faith, logic, and Judaism

BY MOSHE TARAGIN — Fri, 30 Jan 2026 17:59:18 GMT

The mitzvah of honoring one's parents is not a narrow religious demand but a foundational moral duty.

Parashat Beshalach's lessons on unity, shared risk, and IDF service

BY MICHAEL FREUND — Fri, 30 Jan 2026 17:56:26 GMT

A segment of Israeli society – largely comprising traditional, Religious-Zionist, and secular Jews – carries the overwhelming weight of military service.

Parashat Beshalach: The joy of ‘mitzvot’

BY RABBI SHMUEL RABINOWITZ — Fri, 30 Jan 2026 11:20:02 GMT

Recounting for the first time the story of an entire people who, after long years of harsh and grueling bondage, emerge into freedom.

Parashat Bo: Jeremiah’s timeless promise to Israel

BY MICHAEL FREUND — Fri, 23 Jan 2026 18:22:09 GMT

Empires crumble, pain persists, yet Israel survives; Jeremiah’s words offer reassurance across generations.

Parashat Bo: The world is catching up, again

BY MOSHE TARAGIN — Fri, 23 Jan 2026 12:31:12 GMT

'The Protocols of the Elders of Zion' was a crude forgery that peddled the myth of a clandestine Jewish cabal manipulating institutions under the guise of doing good.

Parashat Bo: Promises must be kept

BY RABBI SHMUEL RABINOWITZ — Fri, 23 Jan 2026 12:28:35 GMT

Keeping promises is the foundation of trust between people, of educating children, and of building a moral future.

The high price of not listening: What Pharaoh teaches us about power and humility

BY MOSHE TARAGIN — Sat, 17 Jan 2026 07:34:17 GMT

Pharaoh ignored every warning until his nation collapsed. His mistake isn’t ancient, it’s painfully familiar today.

Parashat Va'era: Between Pharaoh and Persia, pride before a fall

BY MICHAEL FREUND — Fri, 16 Jan 2026 12:50:07 GMT

The Iranian regime, like Pharaoh, has long encouraged the belief that it is untouchable. Yet the protests reveal a profound rupture between the state and the society it purports to lead.

Parashat Va’era: Why being good is the secret strength we forget

BY RABBI SHMUEL RABINOWITZ — Fri, 16 Jan 2026 12:35:34 GMT

Why does Moses step aside for Aaron during the first plagues? The answer reveals a profound Torah teaching about humility and gratitude.

The return of the lost Jews - and the ‘great shofar’

BY MICHAEL FREUND — Sun, 11 Jan 2026 14:24:54 GMT

'On that day, a great shofar shall be sounded, and those lost in the land of Assyria and those who were cast off in the land of Egypt shall come, and they shall bow to the Lord in Jerusalem.'

Parashat Shemot: Learning God

BY MOSHE TARAGIN — Fri, 09 Jan 2026 11:53:49 GMT

The divine cannot be reduced to scientific explanation or empirical inquiry. God exists beyond the categories through which human beings normally understand reality.

Parashat Shemot: The continuity of the world

BY RABBI SHMUEL RABINOWITZ — Fri, 09 Jan 2026 11:49:17 GMT

The victory of the midwives over Pharaoh was the beginning of Israel’s triumph over Egypt.

Parashat Vayechi: Change begins with you

BY RABBI SHMUEL RABINOWITZ — Fri, 02 Jan 2026 11:49:41 GMT

Anyone who truly wants change must begin with himself – to be better, more generous, more understanding, and more open to differing views.