According to the Talmud, Rabbi Akiva presided over 24,000 students until a terrible plague decimated nearly all of them (only 5 survived) in the 2nd Century CE. “Why did these students die?” asks the Talmud. The answer: “Because they did not show honor to one another.”
There are many questions one may ask about this story, [...]
Archive for May, 2009
Lag B’Omer – When Hatred is Love
Posted in Uncategorized, tagged Lag B'omer, Love Your Neighbor, Rabbi Akiva on Monday, May 11, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
Why Inner City Schools Need Kohanim
Posted in Uncategorized on Thursday, May 7, 2009 | 2 Comments »
A couple of Friday nights ago we had the privilege of having over to our home for Shabbat dinner a distinguished group of U.S. educators visiting Israel as part of the American-Israeli Friendship League Mission Program. As usual, we went around the table and had everyone introduce themselves. In addition to telling us a little [...]
When Lions Roar – The Connection Between the Holy and the Ethical
Posted in Uncategorized, tagged ethics, holiness, kedoshim, prayer on Tuesday, May 5, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
I apologize for the length of this post. Feel free to split it up into two or three reads.
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Why do we take three steps back and then three steps forward before praying the silent ‘amida’ prayer?
There are a number of answers to this question, such as: This ‘coreography’ is to remind us of the actions [...]
