by Rabbi Shimon Apisdorf | Dec 1, 2004 | Beginner
Close your eyes and picture Arnold Schwartzenegger: His Uzi has just jammed, he’s got one arm in a sling, he’s about to take on 300 bad guys all at once – and he’s wearing a yarmulka. That’s who Judah Maccabee was! Two thousand years ago,...
by Rabbi Avi Shafran | Nov 24, 2004 | Beginner
All the pomp and glitter that attended the Athens Olympics this past summer, all the celebrated athletes and venerated ideals, obscured the true dark heart of the Games. For although the modern Olympics are presented as a paragon of good-natured competition and a...
by Rabbi Avi Shafran | Sep 24, 2004 | Beginner
If it did, Kofi Annan’s recent declaration that Sudan’s leaders bear responsibility for not reining in the Arab murderers of villagers in Darfur would raise hopes that the U.N. Secretary General might apply a similar judgment to Yassir Arafat for (at best)...
by Rabbi Simcha Bunim Cohen | Jul 9, 2004 | Beginner
The celebration of Shabbos is a cornerstone of Jewish faith, and it is thus only fitting that it be treated as an honored occasion. For this reason, our Sages ordained that candles be lit to brighten and lend an air of dignity to the festive meal which marks this...
by Rabbi Avi Shafran | May 14, 2004 | Beginner
All Biblical Jewish holidays but one are distinguished by specific mitzvot, or commandments, that attend their celebration: Rosh Hashana’s shofar, Yom Kippur’s fasting, Sukkot’s booths and “four species,” Passover’s seder and...
