Rosh Hashana is also known as the day of judgment. We enter a proverbial courtroom and face G-d’s judgement from the past year. The day seems solemn and can invoke terror within, but if you look at the way we celebrate the holiday, it doesn’t fit in at all. We get dressed up in beautiful […]
Ani l’doni v’dodi li – I am to my Beloved and my Beloved is to me. (Song of Songs 6:3) The Hebrew letters at the start of these four words form the word Elul, the name of the month preceding Rosh Hashana. With the “beloveds” at the center of Song of Songs being metaphors for […]
A friend did a great kindness for my family and me, so I went to buy her flowers. White hydrangeas, pale yellow roses and bright yellow spray roses adorned my cart at Trader Joe’s as I proceeded to do my weekly shop. Somewhere along the way, I jarred the flowers while I was loading up. […]
This class was originally given to the members of Makom, a branch of Jew in the City which helps disenfranchised charedi Jews find their place in Orthodoxy. Fayga Leah Landau is a beloved Satmar Chasidic teacher mentor who has spoken for Makom on numerous occasions. If you found this content meaningful and want to help […]
Years ago, I had just arrived at seminary in Israel and soon after I learned that a friend who was key to inspiring my journey had misrepresented herself to me. I was confused, upset and didn’t know how to continue having a spiritual experience when I had been so let down. I confided in a […]
The great violinist Itzhak Perlman contracted polio at the age of four, and for his entire life he had to wear metal braces and use crutches to walk. One time, the great violinist came out on stage, and as he was tuning his violin, one of the strings snapped. Instead of asking for another string, […]
