Essays

Why would I, on one of the few times I could travel without any children, put myself in a situation where I am caring for a baby? And why would I be so quick to want to take care of Zoe, a little girl I don’t know and will most likely never see again, when I didn’t seem to have that kind of time, patience, or ability for my own baby?

The dwelling is simple, but the mitzvah is beautified.

Unlike our everyday environment, the sukkah doesn't tell us any lies. It reflects reality as it actually is: fluid, unpredictable and always new

Why do vacillation and hardship fuel growth? How can contradictory ideas embody a singular truth? Why does a simple physical deed elevate us to levels of holiness and G-dliness unequaled by the most transcendent spiritual experience? How are a number of ordinary human beings magically transformed when knit into a community, greatly surpassing the sum of their individual parts?

At the call of the dawn, two priests sounded their trumpets and began to descend the 15 steps that led down from the Men's Courtyard to the Women's Courtyard...