 How did you envision living in Yavniel? I envisioned living in a more natural, pastoral landscape, quieter and more peaceful than the city, without traffic in the background. I knew exactly what I was looking for. Has Yavniel met up to your standards? Yes! Pretty much, though there have been surprises.
by Howard Richard Debs  Dance of the Chassidim by Baruch November — Jewish Literary Journal She will be thirteen in a mere two weeks;
bat mitzvah, a daughter of the covenant. Today, I took her to select her gift, she asked for a tallit. Frankly I was surprised, but more than happy to oblige, hoping in years to come, when she recites the blessing and puts it on she will recall the time we spent together, finding just the right one for her to wear in fulfilling the commandment of the fringes meant to remind us of all 613 mitzvot we were given. by Ted Roberts 
 Shabbat - Heaven on Earth For three millennia, Shabbat has been the Jewish oasis in time. Find out what's behind this weekly day off. Shabbat is the name for the seventh day of the week. The Torah tells us, "Six days you shall work, and the seventh day is Shabbat, for the Lord your God." (Deut. 5:13)
In Judaism, the other days of the week (Sunday, Monday, etc.) don't have special names of their own. Rather, we refer to these weekdays as "the first day toward Shabbat," "the second day toward Shabbat," etc. Each day is known only by its relation to Shabbat. In this way, we remind ourselves daily of the centrality of Shabbat. We anticipate its arrival. We set aside special food and clothing for it. Shabbat is at the very center of Jewish consciousness. It is repeated more times than any other mitzvah in the Torah, and it is the only ritual observance which is part of the Ten Commandments. Observant Jews will tell you that Shabbat is one of the greatest sources of inspiration. And, paradoxically, Shabbat is often the greatest hurdle to those testing the waters of Judaism. What is it about Shabbat that makes it so important to the Jewish people, so powerful to the individual ― and yet so mystifying to those who haven't experienced it?
Rabbi Ari Shishler is the director of Chabad of Strathavon, South Africa More from Ari Shishler | RSS
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 Rabbi Tzvi Freeman, a senior editor at Chabad.org, also heads our Ask The Rabbi team. He is the author of Bringing Heaven Down to Earth. To subscribe to regular updates of Rabbi Freeman's writing, visit Freeman Files subscription. More from Tzvi Freeman | RSS  Once there was a king whose palace had been ransacked by wild hordes. For the wood and stone of the palace he had no tears, but for the crown jewels, passed down for many generations—for these there was no consolation.
The king gathered his wise men, but none could give counsel. The jewels had been scattered by those barbarian hordes throughout the land and throughout many other lands, the most precious of them taken across the seas to the farthest reaches of the globe. But the king had a daughter very dear to him, and in her wisdom she saw what needed to be done.
 I don't usually review movies, because I'm not much of a movie-goer. But when the Jewish FilmFest comes to town, I sit up and pay attention, and usually try to attend something. Sadly, many of the movies paint religious Judaism in a negative light, and I've almost come to expect that in any movie made by secular Israelis. The religious/secular divide in Israel is palpable, as one movie-reviewer noted, and it's no surprise that these themes will dominate many Israeli movies. Plus, how many religious Jews in Israel are making movies? So their perspective is rare.
Last night I went to see Apples from the Desert. True to what I anticipated, the religious guy in the story is an abusive ogre, and the guy from the kibbutz is a soft-spoken, sweet guy who doesn't take advantage of the naive religious girl. But I'm getting ahead of myself. Read more »
 Dear Time, I was considering your priorities this morning and realized I'd better get an Excel calendar going for all the projects I want to complete. As a busy family woman, writer, editor, designer, prayer, swimmer, hiker, author, friend, I give liberally of you to All and Everything. The same attention span allotted for each of your sister, Space. 360°s is stretched over you, in ping-worthy Saran Wrap. As you might imagine, sometimes this attention has me dancing for you like a music-box dakini... that's when I rattle my skirt and bring the rush of your careful illusion to a screeching halt. Where am "I" in this equation? Of course there's enough of you for everything, because there are two kinds of you, Time, and I just have to choose which one of you suits my current purpose best. Take this article, for example. I'm writing on the fly, and I will edit on the ground afterward. For the moment, I'm into my task in a way that eludes you; that is, until I look up at the clock and realize lunch is due for the hungry joys (jaws) about to rush in the door at any minute. I include my writing-then-editing experience in both examples of you, explained here, more or less, by professors Herman Branover and Ruvin Ferber from their essay THE CONCEPT OF ABSOLUTE TIME IN SCIENCE AND JEWISH THOUGHT: Both contemporary physics and traditional Jewish thought recognize two types of time: 1) absolute or unified world time; 2) relative or local time. |
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