It was the first week of the war. The second shiva house that I attended. It was held in a Jerusalem hotel, because the hero who had died defending people in the Gaza envelope was a lone soldier from France. His name was Binyanmin Lev. Binyamin’s mom spoke about how Binyamin had left the safety […]
When I was young, my mom brought me with her to a shiva house for a woman whose husband had died. I didn’t really know the woman or her husband, but for some reason, when I got there, I decided to make a joke. It got a big laugh, so I continued. Before I knew […]
lim·i·nal (ˈlimənl/) adj. 1. of or relating to a transitional or initial stage of a process. 2. occupying a position at, or on both sides of, a boundary or threshold. limen noun (plural limens or limina |ˈlimənə|) psychology a threshold below which a stimulus is not perceived or distinguished from another. ORIGIN -mid 17th century: […]
It’s the eseres yemei teshuva right now – the ten days of repentance between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. It’s a time that we should be asking for forgiveness from those we wronged and letting go of hate and grudges towards those who wronged us. There are obviously different levels of hurt that a person […]
The imagery of Elul, the month we recently entered, is often associated with a King. Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi explains through a famous parable that the King, who is usually high up and away from His subjects (i.e. God) is, “in the field.” As in, He’s close to and among us, available for us […]
A number of friends have mentioned that they are dreading Rosh Hashanah. Their general sense of overwhelm has made preparing for the holiday—spiritually or physically—exhausting. Looking back at this past year depresses them. Cynicism leads them to expect 5781 will be worse than 5780. It doesn’t help that due to the novel coronavirus, a lot […]
