Month: May 2007
-
29th Iyar – Tefillat HaShlah
There is a special and beautiful prayer the the Shlah wrote to be recited today (Thursday, 29th Iyar – Erev Rosh Chodesh Sivan). It is a prayer for children, who will grow up to be G-d fearing and righteous.I highly recommend that everyone recite this prayer right now. Either English or Hebrew will do. As… Read more
-
28th Iyar
Not only is today Yom Yerusahalayim and also the yarzheit of Shmuel HaNavi (as per my last blog), but my brother also told me several interesting things about the date.He claims that if you do the maths (and I’m not quite sure how to do it, but it certainly seems approximately correct) this is the… Read more
-
28th Iyar – Shmuel HaNavi
Tomorrow is Yom Yerushalayim. No doubt everyone will be blogging about this important and wonderful modern festival.In my day job at Torahlab.org I have just completed (just in the nick of time) a source sheet for students and a teachers’ guide about Yom Yerushalayim. If you are a teacher, Rabbi, student or just plain interested… Read more
-
Disgusted of Tunbridge Wells
(also posted on www.torahlab.org/thestorysofar The following posting was added to a discussion group yesterday. My wife and I were arguing about whether it was serious or a joke. (my opinion: anything signed by ‘Disgusted of Tunbridge Wells’ is by definition a joke – that is the joke pseudonym of choice). [Disgusted of Tunbridge Wells was… Read more
-
27th Iyar – Megillat Taanit
In Megillat Taanit it says that today is a day of celebration because on this day the Chashmonaim nullified the decree of the Greeks. This is the day that they ‘removed the garlands from Jerusalem.The Greeks would put garlands of flowers (roses) outside their temples of idolatry and also outside all the stores and markets.… Read more
-
26th Iyar – the Ramchal
The Ramchal – Rabbi Moshe Chaim Luzzato passed away on this day 240 years ago (and was born 300 years ago). Today his writings are amongst the most influential for mussar (Mesilat Yesharim), hashkafa (Derech Hashem and Da’at Tevunot) and kabbalah (Kelach Pitchei Chachma and Adir Bamarom). Though he died before the age of 40… Read more
-
Pizza for 4 with all the toppings – to take away!
Today the BBC reports: A British climber is in the closing stages of an attempt to set a world record for the highest mobile call. Rod Baber is making final preparations to scale Mount Everest and make the call from its north ridge. What I want to know is whether the pizza place will deliver… Read more
-
Too busy?
I was rereading a book of essays (before they had blogs people had to write ‘essays’) by Umberto Eco called ‘How to Travel with Salmon’. One of the pieces he has there is to analyse how much spare time he has in a year. He writes: When the dentist tells me that he has no… Read more
-
25 Iyar – Rav Yaakov Loeberbaum of Lisa, (Nesivos)
Today (25 Iyar) is the Yarzheit of Reb Yaakov Loeberbaum of Lisa, known by the name of either of two of his seforim as the Chavas Daas or the Nesivos (Hamishpat) who dies in 1832 Wikipedia has a very good and thorough entry on him (though unless you have learnt a nesivos or a chavas… Read more
-
23rd Iyar – destruction of Worms
Today is the anniversary of the massacre of the Jewish community of Worms. This was one of the oldest and most famous European Jewish community. It was all but destroyed in 1096 by the crusaders. This event is commemorated on Tisha B’Av in the Kinah “Mi Yitein Roshi Mayim”. (This is the time of the… Read more