With our daughter in seminary in Eretz Yisrael this year, we’ve been planning to spend Sukkos there for quite some time. Tickets were purchased, lodging

Sukkot represents at once both the ultimate in Jewish precision and the ultimate in Jewish precariousness. On the one hand, the rabbis over the centuries

Deep in central California, tucked away in the foothills near Sequoia National Park, in the heart of the San Joaquin Valley, you will find the

My grandmother is often asked by her grandchildren, even as adults, “Am I your favorite? I must be your favorite.” She always responds, “You are

As we transition from the intense Yomim Noraim to the joyful Sukkot, excitement is in the air. Yet we must consider a fundamental question: what

I am often thinking about peace, shalom. As a kohen, this is the ultimate tri-part blessing that we seek to bestow on our community. But

“In sukkot shall you dwell for seven days…in order that your generations know that I had the Bnei Yisrael dwell in sukkot when I took

Rabbi Akiva and Rabbi Eliezer famously debate the symbolism of our sukkot, as recorded in a Baraita on Sukkot 11b: “I made the children of

The Shulchan Aruch writes that during the 10 days of repentance, even Jews who are normally lenient with eating bread baked by non-Jews should try

This piece was first published in the YU Commentator and is reprinted here with permission. My parents and mother-in-law can all carry out basic Hebrew

On September 22, the UN will host a conference marking the 20th anniversary of the 2001 “World Conference on Racism in Durban.” The original Durban

(Excerpted from Jewish Action, fall 2011) By Chavie Zelmanowitz (sister-in-law), as told to Bayla Sheva Brenner On the morning of 9/11, Avremel davened in the