Current E-geress Article
Stick Figures
By Rabbi Yisrael Rutman
Like most people, I have never been able to draw more than stick figures. And so, each time the need has arisen to draw something I have been frustrated by that limitation, the inability of the hand to illustrate what the eye can see beyond the most primitive results.
But recently I have found a certain consolation in the discovery that there is more to stick figures than I thought.
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Meaning of E-geress
Egeress is a Hebrew word meaning letter or correspondence. Althought it may refer to any kind of letter, the word has been associated over the ages with some of the most important Jewish legal, philosophical and ethical writings. Read More
Chanukah
Because of the popularity of Chanukah, the word Chanukah itself is well-known. But how many of us who light Chanukah candles know what the word Chanukah means?
It’s a Hebrew word, but one which does not appear in Tanach, the Hebrew Bible. It was coined hundreds of years after the giving of the Torah at Sinai, when the festival was inaugurated during the period of the Second Temple. In fact, inauguration is one of its meanings.
When the Greeks entered the Sanctuary, they defiled all the oils, and when the House of the Hasmoneans prevailed and vanquished them, they searched and found only one remaining jar of oil with the High Priest’s seal. Although it contained only enough oil to burn one day, a miracle occurred, and it burned eight days.
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by Rabbi Yisrael Rutman Al hanissim v’al hapurkan v’al hagevurot v’al hateshuot v’al hamilchamot… In the Chanukah prayers we thank God for the miracles and the salvation and the mighty deeds and the wars… On the face of it, the text begs explanation, for why we should be thanking Him for the wars? Glorification of
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For The Shabbos Table
Parshas Bo Pharaoh in Pajamas: The Physiognomy of the Fallen
After the plague of darkness, Pharaoh told Moshe that he didn’t want to see him any more. Moshe said, “True have you spoken. I shall never see your face again.” Ch.10/29
Nevertheless, we do find that they met again, during the night of the slaying of the first-born (see12/31). But this requires explanation, since Moshe was a man of truth, and his words were prophecy. Is it possible that he was wrong? continue reading
E-geress 2nd Article
Once upon a time, sociologists wondered how people would cope over time with the anonymity and uprootedness of urban life. Today, we have an answer: Social networking. Twitter, Facebook and the others have enabled millions to make connections and to some extent overcome loneliness.
E-geress 3rd Article
There is something about Chanukkah.
The joy of the festival, it has often been observed, crosses the religious-secular divide
and almost every other barrier. It has even become a tradition in the White House, where
Democratic and Republican presidents alike preside over a Chanukkah ceremony.
Who Said It ?
Who Said…
“I’ll have to ask my wife first.”
Click here for the answer and many more Who Said It?s
