For Shabbat of October 30th, Game 3 of the Mets in the World Series 2015, we set up the Shabbat dinner tables into an infield diamond (with blue tablecloths) and an outfield of 3 rows of tables (with orange tablecloths) … Read the rest

“Bo el HaTeiva” are the three words G-d told Noah to “come into the Ark.” Teivah is Hebrew for Ark, but it also can mean Word. The Baal Shem Tov (see #13 of our Twenty Baal Shem Tov teachings… Read the rest

You didn’t have to be a die-hard Mets fan to be closely following their NLDS 2015 Game 5 against the LA Dodgers this past Thursday night. The Mets have come a long way to get to this playoff series. And … Read the rest

This Sukkot (2015), following Abbas’ speech and declaration at the UN, has seen a tragic surge in terror attacks, stabbings and shootings in Israel. Earlier this holiday we spoke of the shooting of Eitam and Naama Henkin (and messages from … Read the rest

Is there a maximum height of a Sukkah? The first Mishna of Talmud Sukkah says there’s an argument about this. The general consensus is that a Sukkah (floor-to-ceiling) can’t be higher than 20 Amos (cubits) or the equivalent of about … Read the rest

In middle of the Sukkot holiday this year (5776 / 2015), Eitam and Naama Henkin, an Israeli couple, were gunned down and killed in their car by terrorists, while their children were (thankfully spared) in the back seat. Abbas’ Fatah … Read the rest

A parable:Long ago, in some far off land, (this is a fictional parable actually) a king went hunting in a thick woods and accidentally got separated from his hunting party. To make matters worse, some ruffians, mortal enemies of the king, … Read the rest

There’s a story told about an uptight and unhappy rich man and a poor but joyous man, a Chassid, who lived on the same street in a small Eastern European shtetl. The rich man had a much larger house, of … Read the rest

This classic Chassidic Sukkot story is told in Rabbi Zevin’s “Chassidic Stories for the Festivals.” This story dates back to Eastern Europe before UPS and FedEx, when shipping was costly and unreliable, and Jewish communities were quite poor with limited … Read the rest

An oft-quoted Medrash classifies the diversity of the Lulav set into taste and smell. An Etrog has both taste and smell, a date palm has taste but no smell, myrtles are fragrant but have no taste, and the willow has … Read the rest