Parashat Nitzavim 5778, Rosh HaShanah 5779 Meir Sendor In the Gemara Rosh HaShanah Rabbi Yitzhak says that, although Rosh HaShanah is a day of judgment, the judgment is not immutable: “four things rip up a negative verdict against a person:…
Line Dancing
Parashat Ki Tavo 5778 Meir Sendor It’s a good shopping experience at the main supermarket of Tzfat, but the checkout lines can be slow. The other day we were in a bit of a rush and it seemed like we…
De-Construction
In Melbourne, Australia Parashat Ki Teze 5778 Meir Sendor We’ve been trying to find the source of a mysterious leak in one of the rooms of our house for the better part of a year now. While most rooms of…
The Great Light
Parashat Shoftim 5778 Meir Sendor We’ve admired Koolulam for some time now. It’s a group of talented musicians who arrange ad hoc choral singing experiences on a vast scale for anyone who wants to join, in cities and towns all…
Up Close and Personal
Parashat Re’eh 5778 Meir Sendor Our eldest granddaughter is visiting us from the States. After meeting with a cousin for a lively lunch in Tel Aviv, we were traveling back north to Tzfat along the coast and thought to stop…
Milk and Honey
Parashat Ekev 5778 Meir Sendor On a glorious sunny summer afternoon in Efrat our grandchildren who live in Israel, joined by our granddaughter visiting from New Jersey, took part in a community-wide Tzedakah project at a local ball field. Children…
The New Normal
Parashat Va-etchanan 5778 Meir Sendor There have been a number of incidents in recent days in which mortars, rockets and even a fighter plane from warring factions of the brutal civil war in Syria have strayed into the Golan and…
Smoke Signals
Parashat Devarim – Tisha B’Av 5778 Meir Sendor The yahrzeit of Rabbi Yitzhak Luria, the Ari z”l, is the 5th of Menachem Av, and people gathered this week from all over Israel to visit his gravesite in the holy cemetery…
Four Weddings and a Wedding
Parashat Matot-Mas’ei 5778 Meir Sendor This week I’ve been teaching three sets of shiurim for the summer program of Nishmat: The Jeanie Schottenstein Center for Advanced Torah Study for Women in Jerusalem. One class is learning the second chapter of…
For my image, so they say, is immortal
Parashat Pinchas 5778 Meir Sendor This week’s parashah opens with a stark contradiction flagged by many Torah commentators. Pinchas is rewarded by HaShem with a “covenant of peace” for his violent act at the end of last week’s parashah: he…
