בס”ד Parashat Ki Teze 5781 This week a massive fire devastated the forests of the mountains just west of Jerusalem. As of this moment, Wednesday evening, it has been brought under control, though it’s not yet fully extinguished. The fire…
Timing is Everything
בס”ד Parashat Re’eh 5781 Israeli civil bureaucracy is a bit notorious for its complexity and rigidity. It’s saddled with lingering influences from Ottoman and British occupation and the Russian and Eastern European backgrounds of some of the early Jewish groups…
Land of the Living
בסײד Parashat Ekev 5781 Meir Sendor Rabbi Menachem Mendel of Vitebsk made Aliyah with three hundred Hasidim in 1777, first to Tzfat and finally settling in Tiveria. He was considered the foremost student of the Maggid of Mezritch, with extraordinary…
Nachas
Upcoming Class Series starts June 1 Realistic Kabbalah For further information, please look here. To register, please fill out this Google form. Parashat Beha’alotkha 5781 by Meir Sendor This week’s parashah contains one of the most spiritually generous moments in Torah.…
Pop Art
Parashat Terumah 5781 by Meir Sendor The Gemara Bekhorot (8b) records the battle of wits between the brilliant Rabbi Yehoshua ben Hananiah and the sages of Athens. Among the tests of wisdom is the following exchange: תלמוד בבלי מסכת בכורות…
Why do Angels Sing?
Parashat Yitro 5781 by Meir Sendor In Torah tradition angels are understood to be messengers facilitating God’s Will in the world. But they also have their own divine service of praise to perform – to sing. There are a number…
Only One
Parashat Vayechi 5781 by Meir Sendor Every day in prayer, morning and evening, we declare the Oneness of God in the Shema. Yet as familiar as this mitzvah may be, the awareness it challenges us to attain is extraordinary. As…
Identity Politics
Parashat Miketz 5781 by Meir Sendor One of the underlying themes of this week’s parashah is identity. Yosef, a prisoner at the very bottom of the social pyramid of Egypt, jumps suddenly to the top, gets a nickname, adopts Egyptian…
Don’t Say Water, Water
Parashat VaYetze 5781 by Meir Sendor בראשית פרק לב פסוק ב פסוק ג וְיַעֲקֹ֖ב הָלַ֣ךְ לְדַרְכּ֑וֹ וַיִּפְגְּעוּ־ב֖וֹ מַלְאֲכֵ֥י אֱלֹהִֽים: וַיֹּ֤אמֶר יַעֲקֹב֙ כַּאֲשֶׁ֣ר רָאָ֔ם מַחֲנֵ֥ה אֱלֹהִ֖ים זֶ֑ה וַיִּקְרָ֛א שֵֽׁם־הַמָּק֥וֹם הַה֖וּא מַֽחֲנָֽיִם: Yaakov went on his way, and angels of…
Truth to Power
Parashat Toldot 5781 by Meir Sendor Yitzhak Avinu, in Kabbalah, is associated with the Sefirah Din, divine Judgment, the quality that discerns reality and accords to every person and every creature what they really deserve. Yet in this week’s parashah,…
