5th September 2014/10 elul 5774 The mutual influence of the soul on the body and the physical condition of a man on his soul is not a ‘discovery’ of modern medicine. In many issues the Torah expresses this mutual influence. One of them is the Torah’s attitude to skin diseases, which are called by the […]
Modeling the Jewish Learning and Humanity of Our Late Teacher Rabbi Michael A. Signer.
Bo -5773
“This month is for you the first of months, it is the first month of the year” [Exod. 12:2]. According to our Sages, this was the first mitzvah that the Israelites received as a people, and the legal core of the Torah begins here! Beginning a new calendar by fixing the first month of spring […]
Poles With Jewish Souls Return Home
On November 23, 1939, Hans Frank, head of the Nazi Government General that ruled central Poland, declared that all Jews above ten years of age were to wear a white badge with a Star of David on their right arm. By October of 1940, almost 400,000 Polish Jews had been confined in a 3.5 square […]
Ekev – 5774
The Hebrew language teaches us much about the logic and the values of our ancestors. Different words and terms share the same three-consonant-stem (in Hebrew: ‘shoresh’ =root) point out the dependence or the common denominator which the ancient Hebrew speakers believed these words and terms have, e.g. the noun ‘Shalom’ =peace, and the adjective ‘shalem’ […]
Poles With Jewish Souls
At least 40-50,000 people living in Poland today have one or more Jewish ancestors. Although a few thousand have recently discovered this long hidden fact, the majority of Poles with Jewish roots are unaware of their Jewish heritage. Now that Poland is a free country at last, an increasing number of members of the older […]
Shoftim – 5774
Capital Punishment –When and why? In the Torah death is the appropriate punishment not only for murder but also for a series of other crimes: Rape of a married or a betrothed woman, adultery, beating one’s parents, and even deliberate desecration of the Sabbath Day… This weekly portion of ‘Shoftim’=Judges, imposes a restriction on court […]