A Chassidic story: A wealthy merchant would regularly visit the Baal Shem Tov and would donate large sums of money for the Rebbe’s charitable causes. Eventually his fortune changed and his business failed, leaving him nearly penniless. When he went to visit the Rebbe again the Baal Shem, undoubtedly aware of the man’s dire straits, asked him for a huge donation of 400 rubles to aid the victims of an earthquake in the holy city of Tzvat. The man left upset and angry. How could the Rebbe be so insensitive as to request such a huge sum from him knowing of his financial hardships? The man returned ..read more

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A Yartzeit is the yearly anniversary (on the Hebrew calendar) of a person’s death.  The day is commemorated by the recitation of the Kaddish prayer by the children of the deceased, and by giving charity, performing good deeds and studying Torah. We commemorate the Yartzeits of parents, spouses, family members and great spiritual leaders. As today, the 18th of Tammuz, is the Yartzeit of my mother (Yehudit bat Elimelech), I decided to share a personal insight into the idea of the Yartzeit. Isn’t it interesting that Jewish tradition commemorates the day of a person’s passing while the secula ..read more

The first prayer in the Jewish siddur is recited when we wake up in the morning, while we’re still in bed. Here is my translation of the prayer, from the original Hebrew: Thank you, oh living and eternal God, for mercifully returning my soul to me, great is your faithfulness. Let’s break down the prayer and dive a bit deeper into its meaning. The first words of the prayer, and therefore the first words that are supposed to come out of our mouth to start our new day, are “thank you.” What a beautiful and meaningful way to start our day! We don’t start off by asking God for something — and there ..read more

The first prayer in the Jewish siddur is recited when we wake up in the morning, while we’re still in bed. Here is my translation of the prayer, from the original Hebrew: Thank you, oh living and eternal God, for mercifully returning my soul to me, great is your faithfulness. Let’s break down the prayer and dive a bit deeper into its meaning. The first words of the prayer, and therefore the first words that are supposed to come out of our mouth to start our new day, are “thank you.” What a beautiful and meaningful way to start our day! We don’t start off by asking God for something — and there ..read more

In this podcast episode Rabbi Singer discusses the weekly Parsha (Torah portion) of Vayikra. The subject of this teaching revolves around the true meaning of the sacrificial service — Giving. You can apply the important lessons you’ll learn from this teaching to your daily life. The post Weekly Torah Portion – Vayikra [Podcast] appeared first on Jewish Wisdom ..read more

Kosher is the Hebrew term used to refer to foods permitted according to Jewish dietary laws. These laws are based on various verses in the Five Books of Moses (Torah), which are interpreted and expounded upon in great detail in the Talmud and Jewish legal codes. The only reason that the Torah gives for the prohibition against eating foods that are not kosher is that there is spiritual impurity associated with it. This impurity only effects Jews (don’t ask me how exactly that works), which is why there is absolutely nothing wrong with a non Jew eating non kosher food. There’s absolutely nothing ..read more

In this podcast episode Rabbi Singer discusses the weekly Torah portion of Ki Tisah. The subject of this teaching revolves around the balance between expressing our individuality and being part of a community. You can apply the important lesson you’ll learn from this teaching to your daily life. The post Weekly Torah Portion – Ki Tisah [Podcast] appeared first on Jewish Wisdom ..read more

In this podcast episode Rabbi Singer discusses the weekly Torah portion of Vayakhel. The subject of this teaching delves into the essence of the sin of the golden calf and how the commandments address in this week’s and last week’s parsha serve as an atonement that sin. You can apply the important lesson you’ll learn from this teaching to your daily life. The post Weekly Torah Portion – Vayakhel [Podcast] appeared first on Jewish Wisdom ..read more

In this podcast episode Rabbi Singer discusses the weekly Torah portion of Tezaveh, which relates primarily to clothing worn by the High Priest in the Tabernacle or Mishkan and in the Holy Temple in Jerusalem. The subject of this teaching revolves around the omission of the name of Moses and the important lesson we can learn from this to apply to our daily lives. The post Weekly Torah Portion – Tezaveh [Podcast] appeared first on Jewish Wisdom ..read more