

The Fire of God’s Holy Loving Presence
Yom Kippur 5776 (2015) The Fire of God’s Holy Loving Presence Yom Kippur points us to the hidden reality of the holy fire of God’s presence in the midst of Israel. It is this holy presence which evokes our consciousness of moral failure and our desire for atonment at this season. Our teshuvah is not the condition or prerequisite for obtaining the divine presence, but the result of our recognizing that God is among us now. When Hashem sheds his holy light upon us, then, and on

Prayer, and the Averting of the Severe Decree
Rosh Hashanah 5776 (September 13, 2015) Prayer, and the Averting of the Severe Decree On New Year’s Day the decree is inscribed and on the Day of Atonement it is sealed, how many shall pass away and how many shall be born; who shall live and who shall die; who shall attain the measure of a person’s days and who shall not attain it; who shall perish by fire and who by water; who by sword, and who by beast; who by hunger and who by thirst; who by earthquake and who by plague; w