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Months 375 articles

Jewish Holidays

Jewish Optimism: Eternal Words with Contemporary Echoes
Jewish Optimism: Eternal Words with Contemporary Echoes
THERE ARE THOSE who view Jewish life as confining, gloomy and pessimistic. They claim that Judaism enforces restrictions, a life filled with obligations, somber occasions, all year long prayers three times...
Jun 30, 2006
By OU Staff
Conclusion and Summation
Conclusion and Summation
Let us consider the following selection as an appropriate summation of all we have learned about Elul and Teshuva: “When you really get down to it, teshuvah today is a kind...
Jun 30, 2006
By OU Staff
Your Elul-Teshuvah Alarm Clock
Your Elul-Teshuvah Alarm Clock
Elul is a time of Teshuvah. The process can seem overwhelming. There are so many areas that need improvement. Teshuvah does not mean trying to change everything at once. It is...
Jun 30, 2006
By OU Staff
What is the Shofar?
What is the Shofar?
The Shofar is a ram’s horn, which is blown throughout the month of Elul and on Rosh HaShanah. Its sound is meant to arouse us to do Teshuvah. The Shofar also...
Jun 30, 2006
By OU Staff
Arise From Your Slumber
Arise From Your Slumber
What does the sound of the Shofar say to you? The Rambam, Maimonides, heard in the sound the following inspirational message. “…Arise from your slumber, you who are asleep; wake up...
Jun 30, 2006
By OU Staff
Preparation For Judgment
Preparation For Judgment
In modern society, a person would not appear in court (even small claims court), without preparing his or her case, so as to be able to present it to the judge...
Jun 30, 2006
By OU Staff
The First Rosh HaShanah
The First Rosh HaShanah
On the 25th day of Elul the world came into being (Midrash – Jewish Lore). Adam, the First Man, and Chava, the First Woman, were created on the last of the...
Jun 30, 2006
By OU Staff
The Sin of The Golden Calf and Forgiveness
The Sin of The Golden Calf and Forgiveness
When the Jewish People sinned by worshipping the Golden Calf (Shemot 32:1-6) right after receiving the Torah from G-d, in effect rejecting His great gift, Moshe broke the first set of...
Jun 30, 2006
By OU Staff
Resh Lakish, the Reformed Bandit
Resh Lakish, the Reformed Bandit
Shimon, the son of Lakish, was the leader of a group of bandits, during the role of the Romans, after the Destruction of the Second Temple. He had a reputation for...
Jun 30, 2006
By OU Staff
Rabbi Akiva, Master of Teshuvah
Rabbi Akiva, Master of Teshuvah
Rabbi Akiva, as a young man, did not know a word of Torah. He worked as a shepherd for “Ben Kalba Savua,” one of the richest men in Yerushalayim. One day,...
Jun 30, 2006
By OU Staff

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