The Ansche Chesed blog is a place where you can find enriching material to read about God, Torah and the Jewish People.
Today is the 17th of Tammuz, my favorite fast day. I like fasting. It’s not hard for me, and a little ascetic mortification, within reason, can sharpen you and make you reflect. So all things being equal I observe the “minor fasts.” Today, the 17th of Tammuz, is the hardest, because summer days don’t end… Read more »
I love visiting cemeteries. I know, it seems morbid. But I find it life-affirming to stand before matzevot – monuments inscribed with people’s names, when they lived, messages from loved ones. Monuments tell interlocking stories of lives and loves: she was named for her grandmother; he fought in World War II; that couple lost one… Read more »
Years ago, seeking ritual ways of marking Yom HaShoah, I tried a few tricks, none of which worked. I tried fasting (even though you’re not supposed to fast during Nisan). But that didn’t work, because I was the only one doing it. Fasting only works communally. And besides, did I think skipping lunch would help… Read more »
מה נשתנתה השנה הזאת מכל השנים? / Mah nishtanta ha’shana ha’zot mikol hashanim? How is this year different from all other years? This question rings resonantly, in 5784, a year unlike any other. To portray the uniqueness of Pesach this year, I want to use a rabbinic concept, going back to the Mishnah, about the… Read more »
This week we mark the 50th anniversary (on the Hebrew calendar) of the 1967 Six-Day War, certainly the most momentous passage in Israel’s history. Israel’s territory was multiplied almost three-fold, acquiring Sinai (of course later returned to Egypt), Gaza, the West Bank, East Jerusalem and the Golan Heights. These latter two were annexed under Israeli… Read more »
