by Rabbi Gotlib | Apr 25, 2024 | Pesach, Rabbi Gotlib
Is it a coincidence that the Hebrew word for evil is ra and that Ra just so happens to be the most powerful of the Egyptian gods (the very one that pharaohs were often said to be incarnations of)? Many academic scholars argue that it is not! Indeed, the fact that...
by Rabbi Shaps | Apr 18, 2024 | Metzora, Pesach, Rabbi Zischa Shaps, Weekly Parsha
This past Saturday night, Israel was bombarded by a combination of more than 300 Cruise Missiles, Ballistic Missiles and Attack Drones. More than 99% of them were intercepted by a combination of Israeli and allied forces. When I first heard about it, it was after the...
by Rabbi Gotlib | Apr 11, 2024 | Rabbi Gotlib, Tazria, Weekly Parsha
Parshat Tazria deals with the mysterious ailment of tzaraat. Though often translated into English as something similar to leprosy, it is unclear what this skin-whitening condition actually is. One thing, though, is clear. The cause of tzaraat is...
by Rabbi Altonaga | Apr 4, 2024 | Kosher, Rabbi Michael Altonaga, Shemini, Weekly Parsha
There was this ring tone on phones when I was a kid called the “mosquito.” It was designed to be such a high pitch that adults couldn’t hear it, only kids could. It was a great way to send messages to other kids that you didn’t want adults in the room...
by Rabbi Shaps | Mar 21, 2024 | Purim, Rabbi Zischa Shaps
The recent motion that was passed in the House of Commons stopping arms supplies to Israel and reinstating funding for UNWRA, is certainly very alarming. We are motivated to strengthen our efforts to increase awareness of the truth about Hamas and of the Jewish...
by Rabbi Altonaga | Mar 7, 2024 | Rabbi Michael Altonaga, Shabbos, Vayakel, Weekly Parsha
If you found out on Sunday that Monday was actually a stat holiday, would you be disappointed in the extra time off? If you were waiting in a long line to get into an amusement park, would you be sad if the manager came out and had you skip the line so you could get...
by Rabbi Shaps | Feb 29, 2024 | Ki Sisa, Rabbi Zischa Shaps, Weekly Parsha
Nothing stays the same forever. Dynasties come and go, fortunes come and go. Economies go up and down and so do interest rates. How do we protect ourselves from the changes and ensure that we will have what we need? This week’s Parsha, Ki Sisa, starts with...
by Rabbi Gotlib | Feb 22, 2024 | Tetzaveh, Weekly Parsha
Parshat Tetzaveh contains a fascinating collection of mitzvot related to the bigdei kehuna the clothes that the kohanim, priests, wore. But what exactly is this mitzvah all about? Rav Binyamim Tabory analyzes several different positions on this throughout the Jewish...
by Rabbi Altonaga | Feb 9, 2024 | Mishpatim, Rabbi Michael Altonaga, Weekly Parsha
It’s the year 1950. You board a train in the frigid Russian winter headed to an important meeting you have in Poland. One of your gloves falls off your hand to the tracks below. You could get off the train to get your glove, missing the meeting and...
by Rabbi Shaps | Feb 1, 2024 | Honouring Parents, Weekly Parsha, Yisro
This Dvar Torah is dedicated to my mother Pearl Shaps – Pesel Bas Chaim Yehuda, who passed away last week at the age of 95. She died in her own home, the same one we grew up in, insisting that she did not want to move and that she did not want an aide. It is...
