Adam Simon

Most of us take honesty for granted, so when the Torah tell us (Exodus 23:7), “מִדְּבַר-שֶׁקֶר, תִּרְחָק – stay away from fake things (lies)”, it doesn’t always ring as such a big religious experience but, if there has been one thing that I have tried to convey is that even those types of experiences, the

The Torah tells us (Exodus 35:31), “וַיְמַלֵּא אֹתוֹ, רוּחַ אֱלֹהִים, בְּחָכְמָה בִּתְבוּנָה וּבְדַעַת, וּבְכָל-מְלָאכָה – and God filled him (Bezalel) with wisdom, understanding and knowledge, in every area of creativity and art.” When the Jewish people were in the Desert, they needed to build a special building which required great beauty and craftsmanship. God himself had to

Over the last few weeks, on Fridays, we have been discussing the various aspects of Shabbat and making it a real part of our lives. We have been talking, mainly, about how to enjoy and respect Shabbat in ways outside of what most people consider Shabbat Observance, but which are a very large part of

God says in Parashay Vayera (Genesis 18:19), “כִּי יְדַעְתִּיו, לְמַעַן אֲשֶׁר יְצַוֶּה אֶת-בָּנָיו וְאֶת-בֵּיתוֹ אַחֲרָיו, וְשָׁמְרוּ דֶּרֶךְ יְהוָה, לַעֲשׂוֹת צְדָקָה וּמִשְׁפָּט – Because I know Abraham will command his children to follow in his way, and preserve the way of God, to be just and do the right thing.” Generally the word צְדָקָה – tzedakah is translated

There is a old Jewish parable told about two friends, I could tell you the story, but I think the below video does a much better job… http://youtu.be/R4RimGtG3p8 Hillel the Elder taught us that this point, “Love your neighbor, like you love yourself”, is the point of and base of the whole Torah and Judaism.

Tonight is Shavuot, the day which commemorates our receiving of the Torah, it is an immensely inspirational night on which Jews all over the world stay up all night and learn Torah – but how can we take this inspiration back to our normal lives? Charlie Harari has the answer in the video below: http://youtu.be/sOJGbSj0muU

You may have heard of ma’an, or Manna. This was the spiritual food that God gave the Jewish people in the desert, we are told many stories as children about this mystical food and the many miracles that surrounded it, but today I want to talk about the lesson we can learn from it. The Torah

God created this world for us to enjoy it. We are charged to go out into the world, find the beauty in it and realize that this beauty is an expression of God’s awesomeness. It is an inherently Jewish concept to appreciate the beauty and awesomeness in the world, not regard it as evil and

Over the summer, Jews all over the world celebrate what is called “Shabbat Nachamu” or the Shabbat of Comfort. This is the first Shabbat that we have after Tisha B’av and it corresponds to the haftorah from Isiah (40:1) which begins. “נַחֲמוּ נַחֲמוּ, עַמִּי–יֹאמַר, אֱלֹהֵיכֶם – Comfort my nation, says God”. Why does God tell us to comfort his

We have been discussing shabbat on Fridays now for over a month, now it is time bring some light into our lives, the light of shabbat and Judaism. The Jewish people, each and every one of us, is responsible to be a light. We must do our personal best to light up this world and make it a better place. We are