by Rabbi Nachman Kahana | May 6, 2014
There are days and events whose essence is the unity and uniqueness of the Jewish people, like Yamim Nora’im (the days of Awe – Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur), the days of fasting or the death of an illustrious personality. However, there are days which should unite the Jewish nation, but unfortunately rip asunder the ties which bind us, revealing the ugly side of our divisive nature. They are Yom Hazikaron, where one cannot but notice that an important religious segment of our nation in the Holy Land are simply not present in any of the many military cemeteries, and Yom Ha’atzma’ut when that segment disregards the miraculous essence of the day.
by Rabbi Nachman Kahana | Apr 30, 2014
Why is a Kohen Prohibited from Marrying a Divorcee?
Our parsha’s prohibition on marriage between a Kohen and divorcee has caused great consternation throughout the ages, especially in light of the Torah’s rationale that a Kohen is required to be “kadosh” (holy), implying that a divorcee is an inappropriate wife for one who is holy!
Indeed! Why does the Torah penalize a woman who had a bad marriage through no fault of her own, and has now met a Kohen who wants to give her a new life? Did not Amram, father of Miriam and Aharon, remarry Yocheved after divorcing her, who then gave birth to the holy Moshe Rabbeinu?
by Rabbi Nachman Kahana | Apr 20, 2014
Before Pesach, I was presented with a copy of a “Torah magazine”(?) called Kuntris, as stated on the front cover.
The issues dealt with are Torah related ones, and are penned by rabbis who are well known in yeshiva circles in the United States.
So far so good!
However, there is one “minor” detail that caught my eye almost immediately, which could not be a remarkable co-incidence, but an intentionally planned out editorial policy.
by Rabbi Nachman Kahana | Apr 8, 2014
The Hagada instructs every Jew to see himself and herself as if they were enslaved in Egypt and were freed by the hand of HaShem. The most effective way is to stand before a mirror and imagine that you are looking at a Jewish slave.
After reading the following story of two brothers, stand before a mirror and ask yourself two questions: Which of the two brothers and their respective families are living a life closer to the word and spirit of the Torah? Where do you and your family fit into the story?
by Rabbi Nachman Kahana | Apr 2, 2014
The adverse negative feelings and infighting aroused by the Chareidi understanding of a Torah life and their claims of how evil the Medina is in its efforts to extinguish any and all Jewish religious practice, have become depressingly boring.
The fact is that Medinat Yisrael with its close to 7 million Jews, the majority of whom identify themselves as religious or traditional, is too strong and too entrenched to be shaken by the claims of certain Chareidi leaders that they are now in the worst gulus possible – gulus in the hands of Jews.
The long Jewish journey homeward to resume our glorious history so tragically suspended 2000 years ago, is an historic steamroller which cannot be aborted or deprecated.
As the Beduin saying goes: “The dogs bark and the caravan continues on”.
by Rabbi Nachman Kahana | Mar 26, 2014
The Jewish nation has grown further away from the Sinai experience, and coupled with 2000 years of exile we see within us tell-tale signs of national nega tzaraat of various ideological “colors” and distortions.
As with a blemish where there is uncertainty if it is a nega, and the sufferer must be isolated to see how the blemish develops, so too will be the fate of these two blemishes on our nation’s ethos – the less than religiously observant average Israeli and the disconnected average orthodox Jew in the galut.
When the Mashiach comes he will in all likelihood dispense to each person according to the efforts he expended in enabling the Mashiach’s return. What will become of us? Perhaps a lesson about the Para Adumah might provide some insight.
