Holy Temple, The

But how would he ever get it to the Holy Temple? He would need five strong men to carry it, and they would have to be paid. And Rabbi Chanina barely had five gold coins as his whole life’s savings…

“Master of the Universe!” prayed Choni. “Your children turned to me because I am like a member of Your household. I swear by Your great name that I’m not budging from here until You have compassion on Your children!”

One day, Rabbi Israel Baal Shem Tov arrived in Tarnow. This was before the chassidic master had revealed himself to the world, and he appeared as a simple itinerant, but with a gift for telling stories . . .

At Belitza everyone gets off the wagon and proceeds on foot. But I, fearing that father would again forget me, remain on the wagon.

I longed to join those hunched figures crying at the wall, because even though I wasn’t exactly sure what to cry about, I knew that I wanted to be part of a longing for something great. I knew that one day I too would cry for the Temple and whatever it re...

I try to get back to that place within in me that still reaches unceasingly for meaning. I can't get back. As I kiss my children good bye by the door, the glare of the morning sun is sharp and unforgiving. I want to climb, to run, to inspire. But the heav...

We have traversed three continents. Twenty-five hours of flight, and twenty-five hundred years of yearning. We have arrived home with our family. Jet lagged and disoriented but so grateful to have arrived safely in the Land of our forefathers...

When they reached the Temple Mount, they saw a fox emerging from the place of the Holy of Holies. The others started weeping; Rabbi Akiva laughed...

The day of the wedding arrived. Hundreds of beggars took their places around tables laden with the best food money could buy. But then tragedy struck . . .

Could we possibly forgo the sounding of the shofar, which symbolizes the redemption of Israel? For me, it was unthinkable