Torah

Siyum on Masechta Brachos and Haschalas Masechta Shabbos in Hall Where Knessiah Gedolah was Held

The Amud HaYomi has taken Klal Yisrael by storm. Tens of thousands of Yidden across six continents are poised to complete Masechta Brachos on Monday 10 Adar I/February 19. From taking note of the august group of senior Gedolei Yisrael who will be attending, one can begin to understand how important they deem this new “Yomi” to be for Klal Yisrael.

At a Time that Klal Yisrael is in Need of Great Rachamim, Amud HaYomi Poised to Begin Masechta Shabbos

“Shall I tell you that the sun shines?” was the response of the senior posek, HaGaon HaRav Yitzchok Zilberstein, shlita, when asked what he thinks of the idea of Klal Yisrael coming together to learn Masechta Shabbos and hilchos Shabbos together in Dirshu’s upcoming Amud HaYomi and Daf Hayomi B’Halacha programs. The Gemara teaches us that if Klal Yisrael would keep two shabbosos, they would merit the geulah immediately. Perhaps two shabbosos can refer to the concurrent learning of Masechta Shabbos and hilchos Shabbos!

We are often told of the importance of having emunah in Hashem, but what exactly is emunah? Emunah is often translated as “faith”; the dictionary defines faith as a “firm belief in something for which there is no proof.” Faith is generally viewed as a “personal opinion,” a “subjective belief,” an “emotional decision,” or a “blind leap.”

In 1942, the Japanese invaded the Philippines, engaging in a brutal, bloody war. Hiroo Onoda, a Japanese lieutenant, was dispatched to the Philippines to fight and was instructed that under no circumstances was he to surrender.

It’s time to get honest about religion as an adult – and more specifically, as a parent.

It’s hard.

Part 3

All of Jewish life appears to be a system of cycles and circles. We celebrate the same holidays every year, as we pass through the same 12 months, as we go through the same cycle of reading the Torah. However, as we have explained thus far, the ideal is not to transcend this circular system, but to uplift it, to transform the circle into a spiral, and to find deeper ways of creating newness within the circular system. When we celebrate each holiday, we do not simply commemorate a historical event; we tap into and experience the deep energies inherent at that point in time. All the chagim give us the opportunity to access unique spiritual energies in time; and fascinatingly, this same spiraling phenomenon takes place within the world of music.