Adam Simon

Last week we talked about the 4 categories of shabbat, all of which are required to fully experience and be uplifted by shabbat, not to mention connect with God and our Judaism. Last week we talked about the importance of enjoying shabbat, this week I would like to talk about Kavod Shabbat or making shabbat great. But how can we make shabbat great? Yishayahu (Isaiah 58:13) tells

Monotheism. Judaism’s big contribution to the world. But what does it really mean and why is it such a big deal? A Jew is instructed to say Shema twice a day, in the morning when he/she wakes up and at night when he/she goes to sleep. We are taught that this is to remind and

As we mentioned before, being a Jew is all about being part of a chain that is more than 3000 years old, as it says in Pirkei Avot (Lessons of Our Fathers), “משה קיבל תורה מסיניי, ומסרה ליהושוע, ויהושוע לזקנים, וזקנים לנביאים, ונביאים מסרוה לאנשי כנסת הגדולה – Moshe received the Torah from God and passed it

When the Jewish people were on there way into the Holy Land of Israel, on their way from Egypt, a small group made a request, they wanted to stay just outside the land of Israel, in an area known as “Ever Ha-Yarden – literally, the other side of the river” what is today known as

Today, in honor of Yom Hazikaron, I felt it appropriate to ask Zach Morrow, an Israeli Soldier and staff member of NCSY, to write a guest post. Please find his inspiring words below: One month into advanced training, my unit received a call on Motzei Shabat, as we prepared our gear for a three day

Something that is often lost when people become a part of an organized religion is individuality. While other religions may regard this lost of individuality as a positive, Judaism most certainly does not! Individuality is, in fact, the key to leading a real Jewish life, so much in fact that the Torah tells us straight

The Jewish People pride ourselves as being “The People of the Book”, but what does that really mean? It means that for the past 3,000 years, while the rest of the world was going through scientific revolutions, philosophical revolutions, ages of enlightenment, dark ages, renaissances, and otherwise fluctuating in terms of their relationship with knowledge, the Jewish

Contrary to popular opinion “keeping shabbat (the sabbath)” is only ¼ of what God had in mind when he invented shabbat. In actuality there are 4 categories through which we celebrate shabbat each week, all of which are equally important and uplifting. The 4 categories are: Oneg Shabbat – Enjoying Shabbat Kavod Shabbat – Making Shabbat Great or Important Zchirat Shabbat – Remembering

Today is Rosh Chodesh, the first day of the new Jewish month. The Jewish calendar (and in turn, the Jewish monthly cycle) was the first instruction that God ever gave the Jewish people over 3,000 years ago. Over the past few thousand years of Jewish history the first day of the month has been held

For the first few posts I am going to try and write about things that we should try and integrate into our daily lives, as opposed to specific items to try and accomplish on that day. Today, I want to talk about talking to God, or prayer. No, I am not talking about going into