Cheshvan: Great Plenty and Great Power
Cheshvan does not have any holidays. It is known for the month that King Solomon completed the seven year building of the sanctuary, but it was not celebrated until 11 months later. It is also the month in which the matriarch Rachel died giving birth to Benjamin. It is the month in which the […]
Jewish Rock Music: Featured Musician Elie Deutsch
Though some might think that a musically talented accountant is an oxymoron, Elie Deutsch is just that. This father of three young children created a beautiful CD, Yedid Nefesh, which brings to life ancient Jewish texts with original Deutsch tunes. The thirty-year-old musician moved to Israel from the US when he was eight years […]
Bringing in the Hebrew Month of Cheshvan
The Hebrew month of Cheshvan is the second month in the Jewish calendar counting from the New Year (Rosh Hashana). Cheshvan is the only month in the entire Hebrew year in which there is no Jewish holiday, festival or special mitzvah (commandment). Therefore it is also known as “Marcheshvan”, or the “bitter month”, as the prefix […]
Irreplaceable: Mourning the Losses of Terror Victims
Commenting on the tragedy of the Holocaust, Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach once said, “It’s not just the number six million. We lost so many holy people”. These words kept circling in my mind the last few days . . . “It’s not just the number – we lost so many holy people”. The media reported: “4 […]
The Letters of Jonathan Netanyahu
The Letters of Jonathan Netanyahu reads like an Israeli soldier’s Zionist version of The Diary of Anne Frank: knowing how the story ends before beginning brings a greater appreciation for the thoughts and emotions of the writer. Jonathan “Yoni” Netanyahu was the oldest brother to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Iddo Netanyahu. He was […]
Ask Rabbi Tully Bryks: Does Judaism Believe in Life After Death?
Question: “Does Judaism believe in life after death?” Rabbi Tully Bryks Responds: YES! But the World to Come is only hinted to in the written Torah (Bible), because the focus of Judaism is on this world. We don’t believe that one needs to sacrifice this world in order to obtain everlasting life in the next world. On the […]
2020 Vision
Can you imagine yourself caught up in an apocalyptic drama? In Roy Neuberger’s compulsively readable novel 2020 Vision, the world doesn’t turn into the 1979 movie Mad Max. Instead, on an ordinary summer day, July 5, 2020, in a matter of moments, the world ceases to function normally. No electricity. No radio broadcasts. No computer […]
Not Just Another Scenario 2
Rabbi Pinchas Winston, Torah scholar, teacher and author of Survival Guide for the End Of Days among dozens of other books, many with End of Days themes, took a departure from his usual writing style to compose Not Just Another Scenario 2. In Not Just Another Scenario 2, Winston combines his prodigious knowledge of Jewish […]
Ask Rabbi Tully Bryks: Science and the Bible
Question: Was the world really created in just 6 days or are scientists correct that it took 13.8 billion years? Rabbi Tully Bryks responds: Since God is the one who created the world, a world which contains all the laws of science and nature,[1] there can never be a conflict between science and the […]
Ask Rabbi Tully Bryks: Who is the Messiah?
Question: From Joanne, Hemel Hempstead, England “All the way through the Old Testament, the Jews are awaiting the arrival of a Messiah. Then Jesus arrives, performs miracles, etc. and many Jews follow him. Why did the rabbis not accept Jesus as the one that they had been waiting for and advise their people to all […]