Author Archives: Harry Zeitlin

Peace: Eternally Elusive?

Posted on July 26, 2024 by Harry Zeitlin

Nothing is more dreamed of and sought after, especially these days with our soldiers dying every day and our hostages, languishing unspeakable torture in the tunnels of hell in Gaza, than peace. It feels cruelly mocking each time, and we … Continue reading →

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Restoring the Tablets

Posted on July 23, 2024 by Harry Zeitlin

As we reach the end of Tammuz 17, a multi-purpose fast day in the Jewish calendar, this year with Israel still engaged in an existential war that began with the barbaric attack of October 7, when approximately 120 are still … Continue reading →

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MiMa’amakim–From The Depths

Posted on June 28, 2024 by Harry Zeitlin

Just when it seems we’re, once again, on the brink of disaster, we should find comfort that our yearly Torah cycle brings us to Parshat Shelach. When it seems we’re being abandoned by our closest allies in our war against … Continue reading →

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Descent

Posted on June 11, 2024 by Harry Zeitlin

A well-known principle in Kabbalah is  that of descent for the sake of later ascent, as it says in Mishlei (24:16), “a Tzaddik falls seven times and then he rises.” Much of the world of  Chassidut (see, especially, the Meor … Continue reading →

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Rational Vs. Irrational Love

Posted on May 31, 2024 by Harry Zeitlin

The Torah talks about Chokim as a class of mitzvot, commandments which have no reason, i.e. are irrational. There is no obvious benefit to performing that mitzva beyond, perhaps, demonstrating ones commitment to and membership in Am Yisrael, the Jewish … Continue reading →

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A New Focus

Posted on April 28, 2024 by Harry Zeitlin

These are preliminary thoughts on what has become a very popular custom during the days between Pesach and Shavuot. I am only offering here observations and, perhaps, proposed directions, but not any concrete or comprehensive practice. These need to be … Continue reading →

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Is This Pesach Different From All Other Pesachs?

Posted on April 22, 2024 by Harry Zeitlin

Yes, this is the first time in the lifetimes of most Jews alive today that we, as a people, are under so much attack on so many fronts. The cornerstone of Zionism, that if only we had a country with … Continue reading →

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Do We Really Listen?

Posted on March 22, 2024 by Harry Zeitlin

VaYikrah begins a new book of the Torah and is always read close to Purim. It begins with one of the rare curiosities in our tradition in that the word itself, ויקרא is always written in a Torah scroll with … Continue reading →

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Living With Both Eyes

Posted on March 10, 2024 by Harry Zeitlin

Any mature understanding of the Torah requires simultaneously reading both for literal meaning and for metaphor. Perhaps no other topic requires this as much as does the Mishkan, the proto-Temple in the desert, a physical structure in which we are … Continue reading →

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The Secret To Falling

Posted on January 5, 2024 by Harry Zeitlin

“And these are the names of Bnei Yisrael who came to Egypt” (Shemot 1:1) Many Chassidic lessons are based on a verse in Mishlei (Proverbs), 24:16. כי שבע יפול צדיק וקם, a Tzaddik falls seven times and (then) rises. With … Continue reading →

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