by Rabbi Shaps | Jul 21, 2022 | Prayer, Rabbi Zischa Shaps, Weekly Parsha
By my count, I have said the weekday Shemoneh Esrei prayer more than 45,000 times. That is FORTY FIVE THOUSAND TIMES. I know it by heart and can recite this very long prayer without paying attention. Therein lies the problem. I should be concentrating on the words and...
by Rabbi Altonaga | Jul 8, 2022 | Rabbi Michael Altonaga, Weekly Parsha
Have you ever done a trust fall? It’s when you stand straight up with your eyes closed. Then while still in standing position you lean back slowly until you fall backwards. Then you trust that your friend(s) just behind you catch you before you plummet to the...
by Rabbi Shaps | Jun 30, 2022 | Korach, Rabbi Zischa Shaps, Weekly Parsha
The story is told of a man whose five year old son was constantly interrupting him as he read the newspaper. Finally, in desperation, he tore off a page of a magazine with a world map and ripped it into small pieces, telling his son not to come back until he had...
by Rabbi Altonaga | Jun 17, 2022 | Rabbi Michael Altonaga, Weekly Parsha
A wife once asked her husband to take out the garbage. He felt that he was a very distinguished person and therefore it was below his dignity to do a menial chore like that. He said that his wife should be the one to take out the trash. His wife replied that she was...
by Rabbi Altonaga | May 25, 2022 | Rabbi Michael Altonaga, Weekly Parsha
I was lying down for a shabbos nap when I heard the walls of my home shaking. My wife screamed as half of our tree was ripped off by gale force winds and slammed into the street below. The neighbour’s tree was uprooted entirely and we stood wide eyed as rain...
by Rabbi Altonaga | May 11, 2022 | Emor, Rabbi Michael Altonaga, Weekly Parsha
A leaked draft opinion from the Supreme Court of the United States seems to show a willingness of the Court to overturn an abortion ruling that has held sway for 50 years. Even though nothing is yet official, people on both sides of the political spectrum have...
by Rabbi Altonaga | Feb 11, 2022 | Rabbi Michael Altonaga, Tetzaveh, Weekly Parsha
Possibly the most holy man there can be. A lofty position with significance even greater than the king in certain areas. The man who everyone sings about and focuses on on the holiest day of the year, Yom Kippur. The Kohen Gadol. The High Priest. The Torah describes...
by Rabbi Shaps | Feb 4, 2022 | Rabbi Zischa Shaps, Terumah, Weekly Parsha
They say it is the thought that counts. Generally, we understand this to mean that I had good intentions even though things didn’t work out as planned so don’t hold it against me that something negative happened to you. I meant well. In this week’s Torah reading...
by Rabbi Altonaga | Jan 21, 2022 | Rabbi Michael Altonaga, Weekly Parsha, Yisro
What is the single most important event in Jewish history? The event that changed the character of everything we carried out from that day forward? The event that gave birth to the most published book in human history? The Revelation at Sinai. It was the only time...
by Rabbi Shaps | Jan 13, 2022 | Rabbi Zischa Shaps, Tu B'Shvat, Weekly Parsha
In Dedication to Rabbi Yehuda Simes Thursday was the 5th yahrzeit of our beloved friend and teacher Rabbi Yehuda Simes. It brought to mind a thought I said at the dedication ceremony for the Torah that is in his memory. I recalled that Yehuda was a man with a positive...
