Around 1700 years ago, a group of devout Jews settled the southern edges of Judea in the Hebron Hills. Their hearts were directed towards Jerusalem, the eternal site of the Shechinah (The Divine Presence) where the Temple once stood in all its Divine glory.
Perched on the hills of Samaria just west of the Jordan Valley, the small community of Migdalim has persevered in the face of enormous challenge. Relatively isolated, surrounded by Arab towns and quite distant from Israel’s main population centers, Migdalim was founded in 1984 by a hardy group of pioneers focused on securing the People … Read more
In the English translation of this portion, it almost seems as though Moses blames the Children of Israel for his exclusion from the Land. However, when read in Hebrew, it could be understood that Moses was excluded from the Land for the sake of the Children of Israel. How can that be?
Tisha B’av is the saddest day on the Jewish calendar, commemorating the destruction of both Temples and the suffering of the Jewish people. Delving into a conversation between the philosopher Plate and the prophet Jeremiah, Shmuel explores the question of what the Temple means and why people continue to mourn its loss.