This Jewish Life - With Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe

Yom Kippur is a day of atonement and expiation. On this auspicious day, the Almighty forgives us for all our transgressions and we become purified before God. But the purification of Yom Kippur is limited to sins between man and God. For interpersonal transgressions, there is no atonement unless the aggressor appeases and secures forgiveness […]

God showered humanity with endless gifts: the ability to see, to hear, to walk, to taste, to think, to make choices, to become closer to Him. The list is very long. One of the greatest gifts that God gave humanity is the ability to repent. When we err, when we make blunders, when we go […]

Rush Hashanah is a day of judgment. On this day, God sits, as it were, on His Throne of Judgment. The intensity and scrutiny of divine judgment is unfathomable. Even the angels quake and quiver with trepidation. For some, the results of the judgment are instantaneous: the completely righteous are immediately inscribed and sealed into […]

Mitzvos have infinite value. There is no experience that we can have in this world that matches the reward in the world to come for a single mitzvah. But not all mitzvos are the same. Some contain more power than others. And even within a single mitzvah, there are infinite gradients of degrees of devotion […]

We have a begun hallowed days of Elul. In one month, we will celebrate Rosh Hashanah. We will all be judged. We will blow the shofar. We will pray for a good year. Ten days later, the holy day of Yom Kippur. We will fast for 25 hours: no food, no drink. On that day,we […]