by Rabbi Yaacov Haber | Aug 7, 2015 | Ekev, Elul
The three weeks and the nine days are behind us and the High Holidays are not yet here. So, it’s party time. Concerts, barbecues, hiking and a lot of junk food in the Mountains. The Catskills have the feel of a Jewish Woodstock. It is a break between crisis and...
by Rabbi Yaacov Haber | Aug 9, 2013 | Elul, Shoftim
We’ve all been there. We are enjoying the first course at the wedding meal. There is light music in the background, pleasant conversation and a beautiful setting. Suddenly the band pumps up. With pomp and fanfare the music reaches a crescendo and a new beginning is...
by Rabbi Yaacov Haber | Aug 17, 2012 | Re'eh, Elul
Here we are getting ready to usher in the last month of the year. There is a vast amount of discussion and literature on how to start off the year and very little about how to end it. Even the last month of the year Elul, has been marketed as the preparation for the...
by Rabbi Yaacov Haber | Sep 1, 2011 | Elul, Shoftim
This week’s parsha speaks of the different models of leadership; the king, the judge, the Kohein and the prophet. It’s relatively easy to examine and criticize leaders but as the saying goes; the people get the leader they deserve. As we arrive at Chodesh...
by Rabbi Yaacov Haber | Sep 17, 2009 | Rosh Hashanah, Elul, Ten Days of Repentance, Ha'azinu
Close your eyes and imagine what the world must have looked like on the first day of creation. Pristine, fresh, untainted, healthy and unpolluted. Man is created. He is naive, pure and innocent. His face shines from the goodness of his unadulterated soul. His tongue...