In the ancient world and through the period of the Middle Ages there were couriers who risked their lives to deliver letters and messages to far-flung outposts. Diplomatic pouches and their carriers date back at least a millennium and the beginnings of a modern postal system existed in England in the seventeenth century with the advent of postage stamps, and official postal authorities arose in...
One of the most honored professions in Jewish life is being a scribe: a sofer. It has been the profession of many great men in Jewish history, chief among them the great Ezra who succeeded in rebuilding the Second Commonwealth and Temple. The word sofer in Hebrew literally means "one who counts." Since a scribe in essence "counts" the holy letters and words of the Torah as he writes them, the...
Like all matters of seemingly mundane life, sleep is a subject of discussion and guidance in Jewish tradition and halacha. Sleep is one of the necessary blessings of life, allowing a person to refresh one's body and spirit. Sleep deprivation causes serious pain, discomfort and great health hazards. One of the more modern methods of torture of prisoners and arrestees, perfected by the Soviet Union...
One of the great joys of preparing for the Shabat, at least as far as I am concerned, is preparing the Shabat table. The halacha provides for the necessity of preparing a Shabat table, unique and glorified over all of the other tables of the rest of the week. Just as there are rules and customs regarding Shabat clothing, Shabat prayers, Shabat leisure and rest, there are rules regarding the...
Jewish history is rich in the stories of righteous gentiles who converted to Judaism and made tremendous contributions to Jewish life, culture and scholarship. Unfortunately, there have also been many instances when the convert was insincere in the conversion process to Judaism and great problems, both personal and national, resulted. Judaism views insincere conversions as personally damaging to...
Over the past one hundred fifty years there have been many plans advanced as to the establishment of a Jewish national state. The one that was realized was the one advanced by the Zionist movement of building a Jewish state in the Land of Israel, our historic and biblical homeland. This triumph of Zionism in establishing a Jewish national home in the Land of Israel was naturally based on the...
The word partners - shutafim in Hebrew - usually connotes in the mind of the reader or listener a business type of commercial relationship. In Jewish law, the cases of partnership arrangements and their inevitable disputes are many and varied. In fact, the laws of partnerships occupy a large section of the entire code of Jewish civil law as represented in the Choshen Mishpat section of the...
The tradition of Jews is to dress modestly. Over the ages and in different communities, this has had varied expressions in the type of clothing worn but in all instances the common denominator of Jewish clothing was that it enhanced modesty of appearance. Because Jewish clothing was many times distinctive from the clothing of the rest of society, the non-Jewish world took notice of this mode of...
The departure of the Shabat from a Jewish home on Saturday night is a time of bittersweet feelings. It is difficult to simply leave behind the spirit of serenity and well being that the Shabat engenders and it is especially difficult to do so in a sudden and abrupt fashion. The memories of family interaction, Torah study, holy prayer, special foods and physical and mental leisure linger on....
The end of the Shabat is marked by the ceremony of havdala. The word havdala literally means separation, and in this case it refers clearly to our leaving the Shabat, or better put, the Shabat's leaving of us. But in a deeper and far truer sense, the word havdala means a clearly marked sense of differentiation. One of the primary values of Judaism is the ability to separate and differentiate in...
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