Parashat Miketz 5777 Rabbi Meir Sendor It has been raining hard in Tzfat and throughout much of Israel for the last few days – a much-needed rain, but it’s been cold, dark and dreary, and we were socked-in with thick…
Couples Therapy
Parashat Toldot 5777 Rabbi Meir Sendor From the large, high-perched porch of Livnot U’lehibanot in Tzfat you get a dramatic, sweeping view west, across the deep valley, of Mount Meron (1208m), Mount Neriah (1123m), Mount Bar Yochai (1151m) and Mount…
The Power to Bless
Parashat Bereshit 5777 Rabbi Meir Sendor The hakafot for Shemini Atzeret-Simchat Torah at the colorful Beit HaKnesset Abuhav are especially lively. It’s an Eidot ha-Mizrach congregation, one of the most dynamic in Tzfat, presided over by the warm, charismatic Chief…
They’re Playing Our Song
Parashat Ha’azinu 5777 Rabbi Meir Sendor The prophetic song Ha’azinu, that HaShem commands Moshe to train us to commit to memory and recite, is an uncanny epitome of the patterns of all Jewish history. The purpose of memorizing it is…
On the Move
Parshat VaYelekh 5777 In his sefer Pri Etz Hayyim, a codification of kabbalistic halakhot and minhagim, R. Hayyim Vital says that it is a sign of spiritual health and wholeness to weep during these Ten Days of Repentance (Rosh HaShanah…
Divine Buoyancy
Parshat Ki Tavo Rabbi Meir Sendor Our daughter-in-law sent along a note she received this week from our granddaughter’s math teacher: R. was so beautiful in Maths on Friday. We were learning about probability, the concept of things that will…
Justice of Justice
Parshat Shoftim 5776 Rabbi Meir Sendor This week we started Ulpan in Tzfat. It’s a second level course known as אולפן תעסוקה, Occupational Ulpan, focusing on technical terminology and practical expressions used in the work world, blue collar and white.…
Service of the Heart
Parshat Re’eh 5776 Rabbi Meir Sendor This is a big week at Livnot U’Lehibanot – the arrival of the Bnot Sherut Leumi. It’s an annual event, the arrival of this year’s group of young women, between the ages of 18 and…
Not-So-Simple Gifts
Parshat Ekev 5776 Rabbi Meir Sendor We met this week with the Chief Rabbi of Tzfat, Rav Shmuel Eliyahu, shlit”a. Since we have moved to Tzfat to teach in his jurisdiction, it was the thing to do, to introduce ourselves…
