(click here for print version) Dating the Divine Celebrating love “These are the appointed holidays of G-d, holy convocations, which you are to proclaim in their appointed times.” — Lev. 23.4 Henny Youngman, the comedian, once said, "I tried being an atheist, but I gave it up. There were no holidays." What is a holiday really about? … [Read more...]
(click here for print version) An open road, on a beautiful day, your kids in the back seat, perhaps a packed picnic lunch; what could be more perfect? What thoughts go through your mind at such times? Is your mind focused on all the challenges tomorrow always seems to bring, or do you take the time to appreciate the moment? Are you listening to … [Read more...]
The Isralight Teaching Internship is dedicated to professional training for rabbis, Jewish educators, and aspiring outreach leaders under the direction of Rabbis David Aaron and Binny Freedman. The program meets four late afternoons each week at Yeshivat Orayta (with options for a daily commitment of either 1 hour, 2 hours or 2 hours … [Read more...]
(click here for print version) Achieving Sacred Selfishness Happiness through holiness I had a student that once came into my office and said, "My father who passed away was an atheist and a fantastic human being. He was such a moral human being. He was such a good human being. I don't believe that had he been a believer, he would have been any … [Read more...]
(click here for print version) This week, in America, you will read the double portion of Acharei-Mot-Kedoshim which, translated literally, means ‘after the death of the holy ones’ , a meaning that was all too appropriate last week when we were reading the same double portion, as it fell on the Shabbat immediately following Israel’s … [Read more...]
(click here for print version) Sick minds, sick bodies The power of our beliefs to heal or harm The Jewish Sages gave a spiritual rather than physiological explanation for the disease tsara'as (generally translated as "leprosy") which affected not only the body but also clothing and the walls of houses. According to one source several … [Read more...]
(click here for print version) The Klausenberger Rebbe is quoted as suggesting: ‘When you are in a place of darkness, you do not chase away the darkness with a broom. You light a candle.’ May this Torah serve as one more candle to help illuminate the darkness. Any serious student of history will recognize, that there are … [Read more...]
(click here for print version) Dedicated to the memory of those Israeli soldiers whose selfless sacrifice gave and gives us a State we can call our own, including: My cousin Major Benji Hillman z"l of blessed memory , a Company Commander in the elite Egoz unit of Golani, killed just three weeks after his wedding, in the summer of 2006, in … [Read more...]
(click here for print version) Why Eat Kosher? The Talmud tells a story about the famed author of the Mishna, Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi. The rabbi was walking down the street one day, when a little calf ran up to him and hid under his cloak. Apparently, the calf had run away from the slaughterhouse. The rabbi said to the calf, “Go back to be … [Read more...]
(click here for print version) Several years ago, we ran a couple of back-to-back Isralight weekend retreats in Orlando, Florida, which afforded me the opportunity to take a long-overdue vacation with my family in Disney world. For our children, who had just spent the better part of a year dealing with the day to day challenges of living in … [Read more...]
The Isralight Teaching Internship is dedicated to professional training for rabbis, Jewish educators, and aspiring outreach leaders under … [Read More...]
Dear friends: Just a reminder we will not meet this Thursday evening May 10…. Next Thursday we will have a special pre-Yom Yerushalayim … [Read More...]
Due to unforeseen circumstances, the Isralight Mastering Kiruv Seminar scheduled to take place this Motzei Shabbat, Feb. 4th has been postponed … [Read More...]