Candid Conversations: A Video Series with Rabbi Yonatan Halevy Episode 10: Hallel or Heresy Question: What is our attitude towards Zionism, the State of Israel, and the celebration of Yom HaAtzmaut? Want to submit the next question? Just send the rabbi an email! Rabbi Yonatan Halevy’s official YouTube channel! Subscribe for the newest audio and […]
Join our Facebook forum by clicking here! Haircuts and Shaving During Sefirat HaOmer Question: Can I shave/get a haircut on Rosh Chodesh? Answer: Maran in the Shulchan Aruch calls the custom to do so an “incorrect” one. But one would first have to establish the severity of the custom not to shave in the first place. In the entire […]
“Woe is me, my mother, that you ever bore me— A man of conflict and strife with all the land!” – Yirmiyahu (15:10) “If I am forced to be a man of conflict with the whole world because of the leaning towards truth that is deep in my soul – which [which causes me to […]
My thoughts on a WhatsApp message I received today. The author of the message was not malicious, but instead tried to be nice and apologetic, though my response to it unfortunately cannot be. The context? Yesterday, one of of my wife’s precious students from her years of teaching in Israel tragically took her own life. Brief […]
Dear Friend, With Hashem’s unwavering help, this has been an incredible year of growth and transformation! Our small, start-up community has blossomed into a spiritual powerhouse which has touched the lives of thousands! Things You Need To Hear This year alone, we have successfully engaged numerous people through our diverse programs. Whether connecting with us […]
I once had an extremely unsettling conversation that left its marks on me until this very day. [I wish to note the following disclaimer: as disdainful as some of these sentiments may sound, they did not come from a malicious place, but from a place of having been programmed as such by their respective society. […]
Peace is not always the best solution to a conflict. There, I said it. How many times have we been taught that we must always forgive, but never taught that there are those which our Torah does not demand us to forgive? How often have we heard that we must judge everyone favorably, but never told that there are […]
This website is under construction, after years of neglect. It will slowly be updated, God willing. Until everything is up and running, the best way to reach me is via www.kshsd.org
Squelched. Repressed. Trampled. Unknown. Those are the words that come to mind when I think of Sepharadic Judaism in the 21st century, especially outside of Israel. But more about that later, perhaps even in a different article. I have spent the last few years in silence, just trying to take in the (online) Jewish scene, […]
“I wish to share with you my initial hesitancy in writing this letter. Rabbi Shalom Messas zt”l, Chief Rabbi of Morocco and later Chief Rabbi of Yerushalayim, related that he had never been asked a single Taharat HaMishpachah question from any woman during the duration of his leadership in Morocco. The women of Morocco were […]