The Festival of Succot: Joy and Fragility Dear friends, Sukkot, the Feast of Tabernacles, in which we remember the salvation of the Jewish People at the mercy of the elements in Sinai and our 40-year journey from Egypt to the Land of Israel, is also referred to as HeHag[1], TheFestival, to emphasize its especially joyful [...]
Dear Friends, The Founder of Hasidism, the Baal Shem Tov, sat down as he had so often, to respond to a letter of consultation, this one from the Rebbe of Pulno. Quietly, seriously, he set himself to the task of weighing every word so as to persuade the Rebbe of Pulno away from what the [...]
Shavuot and the chain of Jewish continuity Dear friends, Shavuot, for all its various themes and names[1], is mainly the Festival of our Receiving the Torah - the Book that made us the People we are. According to rabbinical description, on the 6th of Sivan more than 3300 years ago, the Kadosh Baruch Hu [...]
Yom Yerushalaim Message 50th Jerusalem Day Dear Friends, For those who live our daily lives in the great city restored to our People, the significance of this 50th Jerusalem Day since liberation and reunification is immense. Between 1948 and 1967, places holy to our faith were destroyed and desecrated, and no Jews [...]
33 Day of the Omer ל"ג בעומר - The various meanings of Fire Dearfriends, Human beings feel a certain fascination towards fire, and especially, bonfires. Many of us have experienced memorable moments around bonfires, sharing not only the heat and light, but also songs, histories, dialogues, friendship and love, significant because we [...]
ט"ו בשבט Tu[1]Bishvat- history and History Dear friends, Tu Bishvat - the 15th day of the Hebrew month of Shvat - celebrates "the New Year of the Trees", is the renewal of the natural cycle in the Land of Israel, represented by the blossoming of the almonds. This is a time of great [...]
אור חנוכה The Light of Chanukah Dear friends, Chanukah celebrates the miraculous military victory of the Jewish People over the powerful Seleucid kingdom[1]. We celebrate this historic milestone by evoking another miracle – the miracle of light[2], re-inaugurating the Beit-Hamikdash(the Great Temple) and restoring the light of its eternal flame. 235 years after the [...]
The Festival of Succot and the Four Species Dear friends, The Festival of Succot is also Chag HaAsif, the harvest festival, marking the agricultural character of these dates - the end of summer in the Land of Israel, with its consequent last great harvest and the start of the season of rest for our [...]
Kfar Maccabiah, Wednesday, September 14, 2016 High Holy Days 5777 Message Dear Friends, A freezing Central European winter's night, roads, trees and houses blanketed by snow and laced with ice, penetrating the bones and spirits of the men of Luntzitz, the small town illuminated by the wisdom of Rabbi Chaim Auerbach. All were now sheltered [...]
Shavuot, Ruth and the Jewish self Dear friends, During the Festival of Shavuot we read one of the most moving Meguilot of the Writings of the Bible: Megillat Ruth. This is a short book, just 4 chapters. It tells the story of Ruth the Moabite, who, despite having lost her husband in a sudden [...]