And the LORD spoke unto Moses, saying: Speak unto all the congregation of the children of Israel, and say unto them: Ye shall be holy; for I the LORD your God am holy. These verses reflect a slight ...

Our Torah portion this week, Acharei Mot (After the Death), contains a ritual that bespeaks an ancient stratum of religion, and a deep, tortured chamber of the soul. “Aaron will take two goats, and ...

Why were Nadav and Avihu, two of Aaron’s sons, killed? The Torah states their deaths occurred when they brought an esh zarah (foreign fire) into the Temple (Leviticus 10:1). But what was the nature of ...

Yom Kippur is quite properly viewed as a somber day of introspection. The Torah reinforces this perspective when declaring that on the Day of Atonement, we are to “afflict [te’anu] our souls” ...

The restrictions Yom Kippur places on each Jew are unique among the Torah’s holidays. Likewise, the intricate and detailed Temple service that was performed on Yom Kippur is unique among the services ...

We call Yom Kippur one of the Days of Awe – but what does awe have to do with forgiveness for our sins? In this week’s parsha video, Rabbi Fohrman challenges the way we think about Yom Kippur and ...

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