Dec
1
December, 1st 2023
Dear Hebrew Academy Community:
How many candles should each of us light this coming Thursday evening, the first night of Chanukah? The answer, of course, is based on the famous dispute between Beit…
Nov
17
November, 17th 2023
Dear Hebrew Academy Community:
I have always been puzzled by the account of the relationship between Yitzchak and his sons as it is depicted in Parashat Toldot. How could Yitzchak Avinu, a person…
Nov
9
November, 9th 2023
Dear Hebrew Academy Community:
Why did Avraham Avinu decide to send Eliezer back to the Old Country to choose a wife for Yitzchak? Yes, we know that Avraham adamantly refused to allow his son to…
Nov
3
November, 3rd 2023
Dear Hebrew Academy Community:
As every Jewish child learns in his/her first years of school, Avraham Avinu was the paradigm of Chessed. How did Avraham who, came to knowledge of God on his own also…
Oct
27
October, 27th 2023
Dear Hebrew Academy Community:
The Torah seems to be unusually preoccupied with Avraham's age in our Parasha and in the many Midrashim which comment upon it. We are told in the text that Avraham…
Oct
20
October, 20th 2023
Dear Hebrew Academy Community:
I am sure that most of you feel just as I have been feeling for the last week: It is so difficult to think about just about anything other than our family—literally and…
Oct
13
October, 13th 2023
Dear Hebrew Academy Community:
The month of Cheshvan, which is generally referred to as Mar Cheshvan—Bitter Cheshvan, begins this coming Monday. It is known as Mar Cheshvan because it is the only…
Sep
28
September, 28th 2023
Dear Hebrew Academy Community,
Sukkot should, in many ways, be celebrated as the holiday of inclusion and unity. In a year during which we at Hebrew Academy have dedicated ourselves to reinforcing…
Sep
14
September, 14th 2023
Dear Hebrew Academy Community:
As I think about the still very new school year and about the period of introspection and Teshuva in which we are all engaged, I bring to your attention an interesting…
Sep
8
September, 8th 2023
Dear Hebrew Academy Community:
Near the end of Nitzavim we read four beautiful, poetic Pesukim (which, by the way, Avraham Fried turned into a beautiful song) which translate to: For the Mitzvah I…
