Torah 24/7 and Connecting the Dates

We are delighted to announce two new book acquisitions for our small but growing Beit Midrash library. Both are gifts generously donated by  one of our more recent members, Steven Ettinger. Steven is a rabbi, a tax lawyer, a family man and an individual who manifests an obvious fascination with every aspect of contemporary Jewish life in the real world—and this is what makes his books so readable.

The first is Torah 24/7: A Timely Guide for the Modern Spirit. If you are looking for a fresh perspective on those parshiyot you have read so often in the past, this work could be exactly what you are searching for. Each chapter reveals, sometimes quite surprisingly, how an incident or experience in the author's life was reflected in or influenced by the parashah of the week. This is proof positive—as if any were needed—that the narratives contained in the Chumash continue to have a real meaning for the life of modern man.

The second, Connecting the Dates: Exploring the Meaning of Jewish Time, is a book that has been cast in an entirely different mold. In it, Steven poses penetrating questions about the role played by time in our lives and in our relationships with man and God. In particular, he asks:

• What is the relationship of the Jewish Holidays to their Fast Days?
  
  
• How do the Jewish ritual practices of circumcision, tefillin and tefillah express the underlying link between the individual s personal life cycle and the life cycle of the Jewish nation?
  
  
• How do the major events in the lives of the Patriarchs and Matriarchs connect to the core of the Jewish life cycle?

 Steven builds upon this foundation and shows how the Forefathers of the Jewish people were also the cornerstones upon which the Jewish holidays are built.

 If the mood takes you, you can even buy these books online for yourself. Torah 24/7 is available here, while Connecting the Dates can be ordered here.

The Healing Haggadah: a new approach to the Pesach seder service

Last month Beit Knesset Hanassi hosted the launch of The Healing Haggadah: Passing Over Trauma, by Rabbi Michael Friedman. The author, a seventh-generation rabbi, licensed professional counselor, and educator, is eminently qualified to write on this delicate and sensitive topic, being the co-founder and Wellness Rabbi of Nafshi, a non-profit organization that blends Torah-based principles with holistic psychological and emotional wellness. Through Nafshi, he helps individuals to achieve spiritual and emotional balance using Jewish wisdom and modern psychology.

This is what Mosaica, the publisher, has to say about the book:

The Healing Haggadah: Passing Over Trauma offers a unique, experiential, and therapeutic approach to the Pesach Seder, guiding individuals and communities in processing collective and personal trauma. Through the lens of the Exodus story, Rabbi Michael Friedman, M.Ed., LPC, weaves psychological insights with Torah wisdom, making the themes of yetzias Mitzrayim deeply personal and transformative.

Rooted in traditional Torah commentary and modern psychology, this Haggadah empowers readers to identify their inner struggles, confront their personal Mitzrayim, and find redemption through the timeless lessons of the Seder night.

As one might expect from a book that is relatively slender and comfortably affordable, it is not a learned heavyweight tome addressed to scholars. Nor is it a list of superficial suggestions and generalised prescriptions for brushing off trauma and getting on with life as if trauma has had no effect. Rather, its function is to alert and sensitise readers to the way the text of the Haggadah alludes to the collective trauma of the Jewish people and offers paths by which our long-traumatised people can develop a resilience and a positive attitude that transforms us from victims to lead actors in the unscripted drama that is the history of the Jewish people.

Rabbi Friedman has kindly donated a copy of The Healing Haggadah to Beit Knesset Hanassi. You can find it downstairs in the library of our Beit Midrash.

Dark Clouds Above, Faith Below

Last night, before mincha katana, Rabbi Moshe Taragin introduced a deeply moving video, Serving on All Fronts, as the final part of Beit Knesset Hanassi's Tisha be'Av program. He also spoke about his book, Dark Clouds Above, Faith Below, which sets out at length the four tiers of challenge that we face today as we grapple with immediate realities and eternal truths.

The synopsis of this book, which you can also buy from Rabbi Taragin himself, is summarized on its Amazon page as follows:

Nothing could have prepared us for the nightmarish horrors of October 7th. This is a seminal moment in the history of our people. Dark clouds have descended upon us, and our faith is being severely tested. Faith and Meaning can be found in the pages of the past if we peer deeply into the heart of Tanach and of Chazal. Redeeming history is a long process, but we know how it ends. One day we will have clarity. Until then, we have faith…

All proceeds of sale go to Yeshivat Har Etzion.