Rabbi's Blog

La Torah discute dans la Parasha de cette semaine de la mitsva de la Menorah "Et vous ordonnerez aux enfants d'Israël de vous apporter de l'huile d'olive pure battue pour que la lumière fasse brûler une lampe en permanence… Aharon et ses fils arrangeront (la Menorah ) du soir au matin…."

Lors de la consécration du temple, toutes les tribus ont participé aux cérémonies inaugurales. Aharon était très attristé; toutes les...Read more...

On Sunday, February 7, we hosted an insightful, profound, and inspirational program with guest speaker Dr. Harry Freedman. The subject at hand was Freedman's latest book, "Leonard Cohen - The Mystical Roots of Genius." Harry Freedman uncovers the spiritual traditions behind Leonard Cohen's profound and unmistakable lyrics.

Cohen's music is studded with allusions to Jewish and Christian tradition, to stories...Read more...

This Tuesday and Wednesday, we celebrate Rosh Hodesh Adar I. Rosh Hodesh has forever been a source of celebration in the Jewish calendar. The month of Adar accentuates the celebration tenfold. The Talmud states, "When the month of Adar begins, one increases rejoicing." Adar is the month of Simha. And in a leap year, like this year, when we have two months of Adar, we have double the Simha - simple math. It's interesting to note that...Read more...

Starting a new job or changing careers can be challenging and even frightening. Walking into unknown territories, new boss and co-workers, and the pressure for performance can be stressful. The reassurance that we are doing a good job can make us very anxious. 

An individual that changed careers came to seek advice and guidance from a Rabbi. Advising him on how to adjust to his new environment, the Rabbi suggested, "For the first...Read more...

Mental Health is not always visible and, at times, undetected. People's mental health challenges in their private and social lives can be crushing. Mental illness is factual, and the challenge is growing every year. The awareness and need for mental health and wellbeing have skyrocketed since the pandemic's beginning. Studies show that about 4 in 10 adults in America have reported anxiety or depressive disorder symptoms during the pandemic....Read more...

Three matters give a person comfort: A beautiful abode, a beautiful wife, and beautiful vessels. (Babylonian Talmud Berakhot 57, b)

In this short Talmudic passage, we learn the order one should follow in life; buy a house, marry, and renew yourself with new vessels [clothing, car, furniture and alike]. 

The original Talmudic text uses a different word for comfort; marh'ivim daato, loosely...Read more...

Et ils [le peuple juif] ont voyagé de Refidim, et ils sont arrivés au désert du Sinaï et ont campé dans le désert. Israël y campa en face de la montagne. (Chemot 19:2)

Hacham Haim Ben-Attar zt"l, l'Ohr Hahaim Hakadosh, explique que ce verset vient nous enseigner les trois conditions préalables les plus fondamentales pour recevoir la Torah, que le peuple juif a toutes manifestées :

D'abord, Apprendre la Torah...Read more...

Dear members and friends,

It felt great to see all of you last night for the Tu Bishvat seder. It was a cold and snowy day in Montreal; one would have difficulty finding a tree outside, and yet here we were sharing a lovely time with the community.
We started with four cups of wine; I told you it was a seder! Like the four cups we have for Pessa'h, only this time, their symbolism was a bit different. The fours cups of wine on Tu...Read more...

Narcissism
Rabbi Yoḥanan said: Woe to authority, which shortens the life and buries its holders. This is evident from the fact that you don’t have any prophet who did not outlast four kings in his lifetime, as the kings’ positions of authority caused them to die young.

Sages explain that this refers to a narcissistic leader. One that does not include himself with the general population, does not take part of the joys and...Read more...

Traditionally, we celebrate Tu B'Shebat as the New year of the trees. The reason is that the vegetation in the land of Israel begins to bud at this time of year. There are many laws regarding agriculture that are affected by this date. According to Torah laws, consuming fruits from the young trees in their first three years is forbidden, and products anywhere from the fourth year are allowed for consumption. The date determining the "age" of...Read more...

Dr. Harry Freedman:

Dear Maimon,
This is a lovely piece, thank you so for much for sharing it with me. Leonard Cohen may not have had all the qualities necessary to be prophet but is there a lesser category he could fit into ? A חוזה perhaps? I am not sure what the difference is between that and a נביא.

Rabbi’s reply:

Shalom Harry,
There is definitely a difference between a חוזה and a נביא...Read more...

L'histoire de la rédemption de l'esclavage se transforme en un concours de volontés. Pharaon atteint la limite de sa patience dans la Parasha de cette semaine. Il avertit Moshe de ne pas oser revenir le voir. Il estime que les demandes de Moshe ne sont pas sérieuses car il reste inflexible et n'est ouvert à aucun compromis à leur sujet. Il croit aussi apparemment que Moshe n'a plus de pestes à visiter en Égypte.

Les troubles...Read more...

Everyone agrees that anger is a bad trait, but did you know that it has side effects? The Talmud in Tractate Nedarim (22, b) is sure of that. "Whoever loses his temper forgets his learning and increases his foolishness."

Even in debates, and the Talmud has many heated debates, The Talmudists felt that productive arguing resulted in truth. Losing one's temper disrupts the process. 

The sages also advise on what to do when...Read more...

La Torah met l'accent sur les noms de la famille de Yaakov dans la paracha de cette semaine, comme elle l'a fait encore plus en détail dans la paracha de Vayechi de la semaine dernière. Il peut y avoir de nombreuses raisons diverses à cette concentration d'intérêt pour les noms des tribus d'Israël. Mais quelles qu'en soient les raisons, la Torah la considère évidemment comme d'une grande importance. En fait, tout au long de la Torah,...Read more...

While I was reviewing this week's Torah portion, I found myself wondering in the Babylonian Talmud, searching for a famous and profound passage about the good qualities one may learn from animals. Rabbi Yohanan said: Even if the Torah had not been given, we would nonetheless have learned modesty from the cat, which covers its excrement, and that stealing is objectionable from the ant, which does not take grain from another ant, and forbidden...Read more...