by Rabbi Dov Linzer
Posted on April 15, 2021
Who are our modern-day metzoraim, the people who are pushed outside of normal society and keep distant and hidden from everyone else? The metzora is not a leper, but he is much like one. He has a serious skin disease and is sent outside of the Israelite camp, in an area that would eventually become outside of the city walls of the Land of Israel.…
by Rabbi Dov Linzer
Posted on April 1, 2021
What would it mean to take an active role in our religious lives? The splitting of the Yam Suf (Sea of Reeds) is the bookend to the story of the Exodus, just as the seventh day of Pesach is the bookend to the first day.…
by Rabbi Dov Linzer
Posted on March 24, 2021
Dear Friends, I want us to ask ourselves a simple question: What is the story that we will be telling? The central mitzvah of Pesach night is maggid, to tell the story of the Exodus from Egypt. In many of our homes on Seder night, we will have spirited discussions and debates as we attempt to be doresh – to engage in the story, to bring our personal lens to it, exploring its meaning and relevance to us today.…
by Rabbi Dov Linzer
Posted on January 22, 2021
Memory – not only the act of remembering, but nurturing and sustaining memory – is central to the Jewish ethos. “Zakhor” – you shall remember: remember what Amalek did; remember how you angered God; remember what God did to Miriam; remember the Sabbath day; remember when you stood at Mt Sinai; and of course, remember the day you were redeemed from Egypt.…
by Rabbi Dov Linzer
Posted on December 24, 2020
How can we leave behind a blessing once we are gone? “Va’yechi” – and he lived. Yaakov has come to the fullness of his life and knows that he will soon die. He calls Yosef to his bedside and broaches a subject that maybe Yosef would have preferred to avoid – his death, and the burial arrangements that must follow.…
by Rabbi Dov Linzer
Posted on December 17, 2020
Our clothes are closely connected to our body and our identity. They have the power to disguise who we are, represent who we are, and even shape who we are. Clothing plays an important role in this week’s parsha and in the prior ones as well.…
Question: Do I make a brakha when receiving a COVID-19 vaccine shot or when it begins to be distributed in my city? If so, what brakha? Answer: We should start by noting that the question you are asking is a halakhic one regarding the specific formulaic blessing of the Barukh atah nature.…
by Rabbi Dov Linzer
Posted on December 18, 2018
Rabbi Linzer studies a long letter that Rav Moshe wrote in teshuvah form that expresses his philosophy of education – especially when confronting the challenges of educating Jewishly in America. http://feeds.soundcloud.com/stream/546785631-iggrosmosheatoz-episode-15-education-rav-moshes-philosophy-of-education.m4aPodcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 30:23 — 61.0MB)Subscribe: RSS…
by Rabbi Dov Linzer
Posted on December 14, 2018
Rabbi Linzer looks at teshuvot about interacting with Conservative and Reform institutions. Can you take a job teaching at a Conservative school? What about renting space for a minyan in a non-Orthodox shul? Lastly, can I get married in a non-Orthodox shul?…
by Rabbi Dov Linzer
Posted on December 12, 2018
Rabbi Linzer tackles a host of teshuvot about Conservative and Reform marriages and conversions. Rav Moshe often invalidated these to solve agunah problems, but on what basis? http://feeds.soundcloud.com/stream/544020924-iggrosmosheatoz-episode-13-denominations-conversions-and-marriages-of-conservative-and-reform.m4aPodcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 17:48 — 36.8MB)Subscribe: RSS…
by Rabbi Dov Linzer
Posted on December 11, 2018
Rabbi Linzer looks at Rav Moshe’s harshest teshuvot about Conservative and Reform Rabbis, where Rav Moshe suggests that brachot from these rabbis are not considered brachot, and that it is inappropriate to give them any kibbudim. http://feeds.soundcloud.com/stream/543457734-iggrosmosheatoz-episode-12-denominations-can-you-give-kibbudim-to-conservative-and-reform-rabbis.m4aPodcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 26:52 — 54.3MB)Subscribe: RSS…
by Rabbi Dov Linzer
Posted on December 9, 2018
Rabbi Linzer unpacks two teshuvot about conversions that may not be totally kosher. http://feeds.soundcloud.com/stream/542122371-iggrosmosheatoz-episode-11-conversion-can-i-convert-without-total-observance.m4aPodcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 18:04 — 37.7MB)Subscribe: RSS…