Holiday- Commentary

The cycle of the Jewish year is a journey, taking each of us through a process of growth. Every holiday adds something special to our lives and personalities. In order to truly appreciate the gifts these holidays bring, we need to prepare for them, learn about them, and understand their relevance to our own lives.

In Days Are Coming, Sivan Rahav-Meir guides us on our journey through the year: How are we liberated on Passover? How do we experience the true joy of Sukkot? What can we learn from Hanukka, Purim, Tu BiShvat, and the fast days? Why do we even celebrate all the holidays and festivals, and how do they enrich our existence in the contemporary world?

As one of Israel's leading journalists, lecturers, and authors, Sivan Rahav-Meir has her finger on the pulse of the Jewish world today. Days Are Coming is her collection of short insights for all to enjoy. It is a treasure-trove of thoughts and advice - from Jewish sages throughout the generations, to artists and authors of our own time, as well as personal stories sent to the author by readers from around the world. 

Inside Time by acclaimed author, Rabbi Yanki Tauber, is a three-volume book series exploring the soul of time as defined by the Torah and illuminated by Chassidic thought, particularly by the teachings of the Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson. The three volumes of this series examine the essence of time and its origins in the primordial phases of creation; the cycles and systems that characterize it and define the trajectories of our lives; and the particular time-qualities that are brought into focus by the festivals and special dates of the Hebrew calendar. Volume 1 addresses the mystical view of time and its cycles. Volume 2 covers all the holidays and significant days from Rosh Hashana through Purim. Volume 3 covers all the holidays and significant days from Passover through Elul, the closing month of the Hebrew year.

In Maadanei Melech, Rabbi Asher Eisenberger presents a selection of Yom Tov maamarim he has delivered over the past twenty years. Insightful, enlightening, and captivating, these essays will help bring greater joy and meaning to your Yom Tov observance and to your avodas Hashem throughout the year.

We are all familiar with derashos creative readings of the Torah or Midrash to develop and communicate an important message. But what is a maamar? A maamar does not take liberties with Torah sources. On the contrary, it plumbs the depths of pshat to achieve the true meaning of the text. When we analyze texts by paying close, careful attention to details and subtle nuances, we can arrive at conclusions that are often overlooked and reach a deeper and truer understanding of what they mean and what they are telling us.

Read a maamar and make your next Yom Tov a truly special and profound experience!

Rav Asher Weiss, shlita, has quickly become known as one of the leaders of our generation. His mastery of halachah, his open heart and door to every Jew who needs him, and his leadership during a very difficult time have set him apart as one of the gedolim of our generation.
In this series on the mo'adim, we discover not only Rav Asher Weiss' scholarship but also his heart; included here are some of the wonderful derashos that he has put together and said over the years about the chagim of Klal Yisrael.
Hagaon Harav Asher Weiss, shlita, is a towering Torah giant and one of the world's leading Torah sages and orators. Rav Weiss possesses a vast encyclopedic knowledge of Jewish law and is known for his eloquence, insight, and clarity. His lectures are broadcast throughout Israel and across the globe to tens of thousands, and he speaks to all types of Jews. Rabbis and leading Torah authorities around the world, spanning the full spectrum of Jewish life, contact him regularly for his rulings and advice.

Sefiros offers the modern reader techniques for achieving spiritual growth and improvement.

Take a seven-week journey to spiritual refinement. Improve your relationship with God and mankind while bringing out your own finest qualities.

Rabbi Yaacov Haber is the Rav of the Shivtei Yeshurun Community in Ramat Bet Shemesh, Israel. He is also the founding publisher of Mosaica Press and the spiritual guide to numerous educational institutions throughout Israel.

Rabbi Haber was a close student of Rabbi Chaim Pinchas Scheinberg, zt”l, and enjoyed a relationship with many of the Jewish leaders of the past generation. He has served as a rabbi and teacher in communities in the United States, Australia, and Israel and as National Director of Jewish Education for the Orthodox Union. His mastery of complex Torah issues, coupled with his ability to explain them in simple, down-to-earth terms, make Rabbi Haber a much sought after speaker, writer, and educator.

In Israel, the High Holiday cycle marks the transition from summer to the rainy season.

In Waiting for Rain, the acclaimed teacher Bryna Levy offers a compelling collection of meditations that examine the biblical and liturgical readings associated with the High Holidays, from Rosh Hashanah to Simhat Torah. Based on a series of lectures given in Jerusalem at Matan - the Women's Institute for Torah Studies, and known as "The Hoshana Rabbah Lectures," Levy's readings of the traditional texts echo the natural and spiritual tenor of this season.

Waiting for Rain joins the field of biblical interpretation known as parshanut ha-mikrah. It offers fresh insights into traditional rabbinic interpretation, together with the author's perspective as a modern Orthodox woman bible scholar. Levy explores the psyches of the biblical characters and addresses issues such as our connectedness to others, the tragedy of wasted opportunity, confronting evil, the denial of death, faith and doubt, personal and communal responsibility, universalism versus particularism, the challenge of leadership, sin and atonement, and the efficacy of prayer. The result is a highly personal approach to the meaning of the High Holidays that resonates with our own modern lives. Stories about heroes and heroines, love, faith, hope, and dreams make this book a moving and engaging source for study and reflection as well as an excellent companion to the traditional High Holiday prayer services. To read more about Bryna Jocheved Levy and her work, visit her website.