Sin’as Chinam
Sin’as Chinam does not mean “baseless hatred”.It means “pointless hatred”. To explain: My point is about holding grudges, even if the hatred initially had cause, perhaps even started out with a halachically appropriate one....
by Micha Berger · Published July 29, 2020 – ח׳ באב תש״פ · Last modified July 29, 2020
Sin’as Chinam does not mean “baseless hatred”.It means “pointless hatred”. To explain: My point is about holding grudges, even if the hatred initially had cause, perhaps even started out with a halachically appropriate one....
Ahavah / Other-Focused O / Shalom
by Micha Berger · Published July 25, 2017 – ב׳ באב תשע״ז · Last modified July 25, 2017
The last Tish’ah beAv will end with us rushing to finally get to say “Hello!” to our shul-mates the way in years past we rushed to the table in the back with the orange...
Ahavah / Other-Focused O / Other-Focused Orthodoxy
by Micha Berger · Published May 2, 2017 – ו׳ באייר תשע״ז · Last modified May 2, 2017
For the past three years or so, I belonged a va’ad led by haRav Naftali Kaplan shilit”a,the mashgiach and administrator of Yeshiva Netiv haDaas in Ramot. (His sons include Rav Avraham shilit”a, the Rosh...
Ahavah / Holidays / Other-Focused Orthodoxy
by Micha Berger · Published March 23, 2016 – י״ג באדר ב׳ תשע״ו · Last modified March 23, 2016
There are four mitzvos one must fulfill on Purim: reading the megillah, matanos le’evyonim (gifts to poor people), mishloach manos (“shalachmones”), and the Purim se’udah. The first, reading the megillah, relates directly to the...
Updated 1/8/2014. We have a minhag to pour out 16 drops of wine, once at each mention of a makah that befell the Egyptians. The earliest mention of this custom is in the Maharil...
לא חרבה ירושלים, אלא בשביל שלא הוכיח זה את זה. Yerushalayim was only destroyed because they didn’t give tokhachah to [usually translated: rebuke] one another. – Shabbos 119b Not the sin we usually associate...
by Micha Berger · Published February 6, 2012 – י״ג בשבט תשע״ב · Last modified February 6, 2012
תני כשם שמתריעים עליהן בשאר ימי שבוע כך מתריעין עליהן בשביעית מפני פרנסת אחרים מהו מפני פרנסת אחרים חברייא אמרי מפני פרנסת עכו”ם… A beraisa: Just as we blow shofar [and make a fast...
by Micha Berger · Published March 13, 2010 – כ״ז באדר תש״ע · Last modified March 13, 2010
I found the following on a web site called “Two Tzaddiks: The Teachings of Rebbe Pinchas of Koretz and His Disciple, Rebbe Raphael of Bershad”: “In his teachings, R. Pinchas preached universal love, even...
I found I couldn’t let the day go without comment, so here are two old posts of mine written originally for other fora on the subject of the meaning of Zionism. R’ Aharon Soloveitchikzt”l...
Saul Mashbaum wrote the following back during the “should we burn the wigs?” period a few years ago. I think it’s still quite apropos, a reminder of our priorities. SOMETHING ELSE TO THROW INTO...
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