“I couldn’t move”, “It was like magic” and “you must do it”, were some the responses of the ten randomly selected strangers who participated in a guided meditation intended to connect them more deeply to the Western Wall. In a seven minute video detailing the process, we can see French, Italian, American and Israeli visitors to the Western Wall sitting in a chair at the back of the Western Wall’s plaza and instructed to visualize themselves relaxing and going back in time to when the Temple was built.
Jerusalem
Haveil Havalim 396
Election
I think it’s hard to start with any topic other than last week’s election.
Rivkah writing at Bat Aliyah tells us that it took only ten minutes to cast her ballot.
Beshalach 5773 – Bitachon and Hishtadlut
Earlier this week Lisa and I had the privilege of attending sheva berachot for newly weds David and Tova.
I volunteered to say a davar Torah. I’m sharing the part of it that ties in with Parashat Beshalach.
Cleaning Up
Today it happened.
The city cleanup crew arrived to take away the debris from the recent snow storm.
Saying Thank You
Saying “Thank You”
Ten days ago Israel was in the middle of a major winter storm.
There was lots of rain.
So much that reports of the Kinneret raising double digits in one day became old hat.
Vayikra 5772 – The Video
Hi everyone:
I just produced a video based on my previous post. For those who prefer the more visual and audio experience, here it is.
Shlomo
Thinking about Third Temple Sacrifices
Parashat Vayikra 5772
Earlier in the week I asked a number of questions to stimulate thinking about the difficult topic of animal sacrifices (offerings) in the Temple.
In this post I will focus on four questions:
- Why lean on the animal’s head?
- What is the purpose of animal sacrifices?
- Is there Judaism without animal sacrifices?
- Will there be animal sacrifices in the Third Temple?
Will There be Sacrifices in the Third Temple?
Parashat Vayikra 5772
As we read last week, at the end of Sefer Shemot, Moshe set up the Mishkan and the glory of God filled it.
Here at the beginning of Sefer Vayikra, God calls to Moshe and tells him which sacrifices the Jewish people will be offering.
I must mention that my teacher, Rabbi Mendel Farber, often told me that we should not refer to the animal offerings as sacrifices. To sacrifice something can imply that it is lost and now without value. He contends that whatever we give to God is never lost and never loses its value.