by Rabbi Yaacov Haber | Sep 1, 2006 | Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, Elul, Ten Days of Repentance
The great days of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, together with the seven days in between, are the ten days of repentance. These days provide the Jewish people with a unique opportunity to repent and improve themselves. G-d is particularly close to Israel during these...
by Rabbi Yaacov Haber | Oct 12, 2005 | Sukkot, Shmini Atzeret/Simchat Torah
Yesterday I attended the funeral of Andrew Fitzgerald. Andrew was a firefighter from Suffern who managed to save many lives on Sept. 11, before losing his own. I stood outside the Catholic Church on Rt. 59 in Suffern shivering in the cold with hundreds of others that...
by Rabbi Yaacov Haber | Sep 17, 2005 | Yom Kippur, Elul, Ten Days of Repentance
Kol Nidrei really bothers me. Through the year we have made many types of commitments. We have committed our money our time and ourselves. In Kol Nidrei we enumerate seven types of commitment we may have made. We recite a formula that absolves us of any commitment we...
by Rabbi Yaacov Haber | Sep 17, 2005 | Yom Kippur
I had a powerful experience I’d like to share with you. About six weeks ago I traveled with my family to Buffalo, the city that I grew up in. I took advantage of the trip and went to visit my mother’s A”H kever. It was a beautiful summer day, which...
by Rabbi Yaacov Haber | Sep 17, 2005 | Yom Kippur, Elul, Ten Days of Repentance
G-d’s capacity for forgiveness is infinite. A person has a choice whether or not to sin. It doesn’t say anywhere that a person cannot do Teshuva even for the sin of murder. Teshuva helps. For example Menashe the wicked king killed thousands of people. At...
