When Poskim (Halachik authorities) have a safek (doubt) about the correct interpretation of a law, there are various formulas by which to resolve it. It is unusual that the Poskim decide to accept all possible interpretations requiring us to practice the law in all of its permutations. Yet in determining the required sounds from the shofar, this is precisely what they have done. The Torah makes reference to Rosh Hashannah as a Yom Teruah.Teruah is clearly the musical sound produced by a wind instrument. Elsewhere when the Torah talks of the sounds to be blown..

So many of us, certainly I, want to change... so badly. We plan to change. We commit to change. But often we just don't. Then there are others who do not feel any compelling reason to change. They are stuck in complacency... or perhaps, in perfection! Rosh Hashanah is the time for transformation and new beginnings. But what forces can we draw on to power that change? Discomfort is potentially the most powerful propellant of change. No one likes to feel uncomfortable and when we do, we generally try to change the situation that causes it.  Sometimes discomfort is caused by external fo..

Halacha synchronizes us and unites us in ways that chronology and geography cannot. Two events are chronologically synchronized if they occur at the same moment irrespective of where in the world they occur.Halachick synchronicity is different. It is a fascinating idea different from the idea of chronological synchronicity. Halachik synchronicity occurs when two events happen at the same moment of the day in their respective locations. So an event at sunrise in Vancouver is synchronized with an event that takes place at sunrise in Jerusalem even though there are ten hours bet..

  The Talmud Tractate, Kidushin, opens with the three actions that transact a legal marriage: Kesef, Shetar and Biah. This is not merely a statement of legalities but also an indication of the three pillars of an ongoing successful relationship: Value (kesef) means material generosity particularly by a man to his wife, documentation (shetar) signifies verbal communication, and intimacy (Biah), refers to a healthy and nourishing physical relationship.  A relationship weak in any of these three areas will wobble.   The Talmud extrapolates Kesef from Sedei Efro..

  A Mitzvah of Time and Place In our last Parsha Insight on Acharei mot-Kedoshim, we discussed the need to live simultaneously in the quantitative specified world ofHalacha and the mystical, immeasurable spiritual world too. We should be capable of functioning in a place unlimited by the three spacial dimensions and in a moment ungoverned by time. It is strange that the very next week in Parshat Emor, we are given the Mitzvah of Sefirat He’Omer that we are currently busy practicing. This is a mitzvah of counting time from a point in the past toward a point in the future. It i..

Left and right imbalance I had never thought of it before; have you? There are very many fewer characters on the left-hand side of the Luchot (that side of the two Tablets of Stone that lists the Commandments dealing with peoples’ responsibilities to other people) than there are on the right! There are five commandments on each side, but the commandments on the right-hand side dealing with peoples’ responsibilities to Hashem, are much longer than those on the left dealing with interpersonal obligations. On the left each is a mere phrase in the imperative. On the right there is detailed na..

    Israel and the pursuit of security From an economic perspective, living in Eretz Yisrael doesn’t make much sense. In the West we invest so heavily in securing the best economic future for ourselves and our children that we can. We make so many choices based on short or long term economic outlook. But consider the severe limitations to the accumulation of wealth and ownership of property that apply in Eretz Yisrael. Not only does the nation observe Shabbat and Chaggim, but the entire agricultural economy shuts down for one out of every seven years. Apart from gover..

    A significant geo-intellectual shift is taking place in the world. The West, being steeped in scientific thought and its quest for clarity has relentlessly pursued the measurable. How much? How many? How long? When? Where? We are ill at ease with paradox and feel awkward with enigma. The East on the other hand, has been far more at home in the world of the mystical, transcendental and spiritual. Asian thinkers have always been comfortable with the unknowable, and the immeasurable. The East more than the West has known that not all things valuable are measurable; and not a..