This year (5784/2023) is one of those years when the first day of Rosh Hashanah falls on Shabbat. We don’t blow Shofar when it falls on Shabbat. In such calendar schedules Shofar is only blown on the second day of … Read the rest
Given all the avid, passionate and knowledgeable meteorology friends we have at UAlbany, can’t help but hear a lot of buzz in this week leading up to Rosh Hashanah 5784/2023 about forecasting the path Hurricane Lee will take. And it … Read the rest
Here’s a memory of mine from Motzai Shabbat Selichot (the midnight prayers on the Saturday night before Rosh Hashanah) from my Yeshiva years, and thinking back to that now, as we look forward to Midnight Selichot.
Given all the huge hype before this Rosh Hashanah 5784/2023 about Barbie, and that this Shabbos UAlbany Hillel (we alternate Friday Nights) is going with a Barbie-theme – would like to share two thoughts about the Barbie film (without having … Read the rest
It so happens that we had a lot of student birthdays this week and it falls near the 25th of Elul which is the birthday of the world/creation so we decided to go with a birthday theme for Shabbat. This … Read the rest
We just came across this children’s book titled “Crictor” by Tomi Ungarer, first published in 1958. It’s about an old woman in Paris who receives a surprise gift of a snake, mailed in a circular box, shipped by her son … Read the rest
This story may soon appear in national newspapers. We heard it from Rabbi Mendy and Devorah Leah Mathless who run the University Heights Chabad adjacent to Albany Medical Center and Bikur Cholim services to patients and families at this major … Read the rest
Eikev can mean “because” or “heel”. The former seems to be a simpler contextual fit, but #RashiToday (Eikev Day 1) goes with heel (as the sole interpretation), as in (fully) fulfilling “mitzvot people tend to (figuratively/attitudinally) trample … Read the rest
1st #RashiToday commentary on Vaetchanan (Day 1) has 2 commentaries on this usual (opening) title word: (1) request for a free gift (2) a form of prayer. Based on a bunch of questions, Rebbe sees them as … Read the rest
We just came across this children’s book titled “Crictor” by Tomi Ungarer, first published in 1958. It’s about an old woman in Paris who receives a surprise gift of a snake, mailed in a circular box, shipped by her son … Read the rest