Paul Shaffer: The Mensch
When David Letterman steps down from his Late Show, his musical director and comic foil for the last 33 years will do the same. Paul Shaffer, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Grammy winning musician and bandleader will be moving on. The millions of viewers who enjoyed kicking back night after night to his muscular […]
48 Years of Celebrating Jerusalem’s Unity and Liberation!
It was 48 years ago this coming week that the IDF, with great heroism and Divine providence, liberated the Jewish People’s historic holy capital. This led, within a very short time, to its official unification under Jewish sovereignty for the first time in nearly 1,900 years. Thus was closed a historic national and religious […]
The Holiday of Second Chances
The holiday of second chances, more commonly known as Pesach Sheni, means the second Passover. It is the holiday that gives Jews the opportunity to perform the mitzvah, deed, of giving the Passover offering if they missed it 30 days before. Pesach Sheni originated at the time of the Exodus, when the burial society that […]
Making a Mockery out of the Egyptians
Why did the Almighty instruct us to tell our descendants that He made a mockery of the Egyptians? It is not enough that we know the history of the period and what happened? Egypt was not just another nation of its time. Just as ancient Greece or Rome were the mighty empires of their respective […]
The Number One Quality of the Temple Priests
The Torah Portion of Tezaveh describes the duties of the priests in the times of the Temple. The Torah’s emphasizes on the quality of humility encouraging it’s readers to strive to emulate the priests. Much is learned about the priest’s importance in the nation’s role of serving God, yet they have a constant requirement […]
MESSIANIC FOOTSTEPS IN MODERN TIMES
BOOK EXCERPT: The Case for Judaism Having outlined the fundamental tenets of Judaism and why we believe them, it is appropriate that we now discuss the era of the collective fulfillment and implementation of Judaism. This is referred to as the Messianic era. In order to properly discuss this topic, we must first clarify the meaning […]
Biblical Passover Miracles? That’s Nothing Compared to What God Has in Store for Israel in the End Times
While we all love and enjoy Passover, Jewish tradition says something surprising about the future of this beloved holiday. According to one opinion in the Talmud (Berachot 12b), in the end times, the Biblical miracles of Passover will be completely overshadowed by what God has in store for us in the future. Blood, Frogs, the […]
Can Zionism Exist Outside of Israel?
As a full time Bnei Akiva employee, I spend much of my time jetting back and forth between Israel and the United States. On every trip, I encounter interesting and passionate individuals who are committed to both their Judaism and the State of Israel. These individuals are leaders in our Zionist youth movements, organizers […]
My Role Model, My Grandfather
This week marked the 11th year since the passing of my grandfather, Rabbi David Stavsky, of blessed memory. Affectionately known by his family as “Zeide”, he was one of the most significant influences on my life whose larger-than-life presence still serves as a role model to so many who knew him. Throughout his forty seven […]
5 Thoughts for Your Passover Seder
1. Inscribe the Story on the Hearts of our Children The central mitzvah of the Seder is to tell the story of leaving Egypt. Our Sages term the telling of the story, in Hebrew, sippur yetziat Mitzrayim, “the story of the Exodus from Egypt.” Rabbi Joseph Soloveitchik teaches that the term sippur, story, is related to […]