375 Aberdeen Ave., Hamilton, ON L8P 2R7 | 905-522-1351 | office@bethjacobsynagogue.ca
375 Aberdeen Ave., Hamilton, ON L8P 2R7 | 905-522-1351 | office@bethjacobsynagogue.ca
In 2012, while she was living in Gothenburg, Sweden, Rabbi Yonah was contacted by a congregation in Madison, Wisconsin, who was looking for a soferet (scribe) to write for them a brand-new Torah scroll. The Torah was written over the course of two years, and in June 2015 the completed roll of parchment was brought Continue Reading »
This week we read the story of the spies, sent by Moses to scout out the Land before the Israelites entered to conquer it. They brought back samples of the fruits – a huge cluster of grapes, pomegranates and figs – an image that later became the emblem of the famous Israeli Carmel winery. The Continue Reading »
Miriam, Moses’s sister, described in the Torah as a prophet and a leader of Israel, makes a mistake in this week’s Torah portion. She speaks badly about her brother, Moses, and his wife, committing thereby the sin of Lashon Hara, gossip. It seems like such a minor mistake. The Torah itself tells us that what Continue Reading »
Words have power according to Judaism. “Death and life are in the hands of the tongue; those who respect it will eat its fruit.”(Proverbs 18:21) Declarations about our own selves have religious consequence; by declaring one’s self a Nazir, grapes, wine, and all their derivatives become strictly forbidden in the same way that non-Kosher food Continue Reading »
As Shabbat ends this week, Shavuot begins, the day of the giving of the Torah. Shavuot is about appreciating our heritage and traditions, remembering our mutual commitments with God, and celebrating the spark of love between us and the God of our ancestors. In addition to reading the Ten Commandments, the Book of Ruth is Continue Reading »
This Shabbat, which comes immediately before Pesach, is termed “Shabbat HaGadol”, “the great Shabbat” or “the Shabbat of the big one”. Various theories have been purported for the origin of this name, including the tradition that the rabbi delivers and extra long sermon this week about all the Passover laws, and the occurrence of the Continue Reading »
This Shabbat we celebrate Rosh Chodesh, the beginning of the Jewish month of Nisan, the month in which Passover occurs. There’s an accepted opinion in the Talmud (R.H. 10b) that the world was actually created on the first day of Nisan. Even so, we don’t do any special rituals to commemorate the creation on that Continue Reading »
Dear Friends, When we read this week about the Israelites finishing the construction of the Mishkan (tabernacle) in the desert, the Torah proudly states, “They said to Moses, ‘The people are bringing more than is needed…’ Moses commanded, and they spread word through the camp saying, ‘Nobody do anything else’… and the people stopped Continue Reading »
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