As we observe the 11th anniversary of the passing of Rav Ovadia Yosef z”l (3 Heshvan), we do so in the midst of a deep void in rabbinic leadership in Israel.  

The brutal attacks on Simchat Torah were not about territory. Hamas perpetrated a genocidal attack on our values.

Being back in LA from Israel for the holidays is timed with another exciting Dodgers playoff run.

Bring Them Home

When the Third of Tishri falls out on Shabbat – as it does this year – the fast is pushed to the following day. This year, the “following day” is October 6th.

Different than programs who might “include one Sephardic session” as a token gesture, at Elul Min Hamizrah, Sephardic-Mizrahi Judaism is the heart, mind and soul of the program.

Jewish tradition marks Rosh Hashanah as Yom Ha-Din – Judgment Day – when – on the anniversary of the creation of humanity – God sits in judgment over all of humanity.

It’s been eleven months since October 7, and it’s been the most intense, painful, tragic and traumatic period of mourning and Kaddish in recent Jewish memory.

This week, let the words of three major Sephardic halakhic authorities speak for themselves.

Late in the 15th century, the brilliant Sephardic Bible commentator Don Isaac Abarbanel was sitting in his study in Monopoli, Italy, writing a detailed commentary on the Book of Isaiah.