Tikkun Olam

For my women readers in Israel, here is a series of shiurim which should really interest you:  Rabbi Avraham Arieh Trugman is beginning classes on the fundamentals of Kabbalah and Chassidism, to be held in Jerusalem starting November 22nd. The Fundamental Concepts of Kabbalah and Chassidut for Women will be held in the Katamon neighborhood in Jerusalem at the Shir Chadash shul, the first class being this Tuesday at 10:30 a.m. To get a feel for Rabbi Trugman's teachings, watch and listen to his latest shiur on the parsha we just read this Shabbat, Chayei Sarah.  See all his shiurim on the parshiot on the Trugmans' blog . He also composes music and plays the dulcimer.  You can listen to his music on the Ohr Chadash website.                                                 Rebbetzin Rachel Trugman, aside from being a wonderful human being with ...

(le-havdil*.) This is a sign of the times. Madonna has come to tour the Holy Land (again). The interesting thing is, that she, The Material Girl has, as have some other celebrities over the years, found a fascination with Kabbalah and things Jewish, while many Jews never had or even worse, have lost their connection to Judaism. Instead, they drift into the secular, spiritually purposeless lifestyle of our prevaling culture. As Rabbi Yitzhak Batzri --with whom I don't agree on everything he says, but do on this--stated on this latest visit by Madonna (oh, excuse me: by Esther ): “No one can study Torah unless he or she is converting to Judaism," he explained to Arutz-7's Hebrew news site. Madonna’s ostensible plunge into Kabbalah several years has been widely condemned by Torah scholars. Rabbi Batzri said Sunday, however, “There is no connection between what the singer learns and true Kabbalah. The foundations of Kabbalah are the Tree of Life…that no one can learn with...