Whose Torah Is It? by Rabbi Mordechai Rhine Shavuos is a holiday that could have been predicted. It is the holiday on which Hashem gave us the Torah. From the world around us, one could have predicted the giving of the Torah as a moral guide for people. DNA, the brain, the eye, and digestion, more »
Can you taste the Afikoman? by Rabbi Mordechai Rhine THAT time of year is finally upon us. The time when the children come home from school with all the projects for the Pesach Seder. I, with parents throughout the world, look on with a mixture of pride and confusion. Pride that the children know so more »
Chanukah: Beyond the Numbers by Rabbi Mordechai Rhine The battle of the Jews against the Syrian–Greeks culminated with the miracle of the menorah and the holiday of Chanukah. But the story of Chanukah was not the only interaction that the Jews had with the Greek Empire. For centuries following the conquest of Alexander the Great, more »
Working for G-d by Rabbi Mordechai Rhine The Talmud tells us that in the end of days, when it becomes clear that there is reward for doing mitzvos, there will be nations of the world who will wish for a second chance to accept the Mitzvos. Although at that time it really will be too more »
Angels for a Day by Rabbi Mordechai Rhine Yom Kippur is the Day of Atonement. On it, Moshe came back from the Mount Sinai and informed us of G-d’s forgiveness. In Moshe’s hands were the second luchos, symbolizing the possibility for renewal and teshuva in all generations. Yom Kippur is also a fast day, and more »
Matzoh of Hope by Rabbi Mordechai Rhine For me, one of the greatest moments of the Pesach Seder is “Yachatz,” when we break the middle matzoh. At that moment my memories turn fondly to the seder in my parent’s home where my father, an accountant by trade, always tries to break the matzoh into two more »
Hashem Has His Waze by Rabbi Mordechai Rhine One of the difficulties that some people have with religious perspective is that they find it hard to believe that G-d really pays attention to the individual. Perhaps their logic is, “If indeed G-d is great, why would He care about me.” The Torah perspective is that more »
Keep Your Eye on the Light by Rabbi Mordechai Rhine Perhaps the most famous question associated with the holiday of Chanukah is the question of the Beis Yosef: If the Jews found oil that would last for one day, and it lasted for eight days, then the miracle was only for seven days. Why do more »
The Message of the Dreidel by Rabbi Mordechai Rhine Chanukah is the celebration of Jewish continuity. The events that we commemorate took place while the Jews were in the Land of Israel, during the time of the Second Temple (c.165 BCE). The Syrian-Greeks outlawed mitzvah observance and threatened to destroy Judaism. It was through the more »
Lag B’Omer Reflections: To Illuminate the Darkness by Rabbi Mordechai Rhine Pesach marks the time of redemption from the slavery in Egypt; Shavuos marks the time when the Torah was given. The days of counting between Pesach and Shavuos are days of transition between freedom and what exactly what we intend to do with that more »