Author Archives: Michal Kohane מיכל כהנא

Achrei Mot Janusz Korczak – something for the Shabbat after Holocaust Memorial Day

Posted on May 7, 2016 by Michal Kohane מיכל כהנא

When my students “stretch my limits”, I think of Janusz Korczak (pronounced – Yanush Kor’chak). Up until I was in my teens or so, Korczak was just a small street, not too far from my home in the Haifa neighborhood … Continue reading →

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Four Shorts and a Fifth for Passover

Posted on April 22, 2016 by Michal Kohane מיכל כהנא

(1) The Passover Haggada is a big on “four”: four cups, four questions, four sons. And yet, each one of these fours, has a hidden, less obvious fifth. The most obvious one is that there is a fifth cup on … Continue reading →

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A Number Greater than 100?

Posted on April 15, 2016 by Michal Kohane מיכל כהנא

Once upon a time, as all stories go, there was a poor thief who came across an exquisite coat, weaved with gold and silver threads. Desperate to get his next meal, he rushed to sell it in the market for … Continue reading →

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Most misunderstood Torah portion award goes to…

Posted on April 9, 2016 by Michal Kohane מיכל כהנא

Tazria must win the ‘most misunderstood Torah portion’ prize. The word itself is untranslatable, and it follows by laws of “purity” and “impurity”, two more concepts we don’t understand. Then… Source: Most misunderstood Torah portion award goes to…

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The middle letter of the Torah is….

Posted on April 2, 2016 by Michal Kohane מיכל כהנא

The middle letter in the Torah is in this week’s reading, and is a Vav. It appears in the word gachon (belly) in Leviticus 11:42. A Torah scroll writer is called a sofer”, which literally means ‘someone who counts’. I … Continue reading →

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Holy Trash

Posted on March 26, 2016 by Michal Kohane מיכל כהנא

The whole idea of “sacrifices”… I can make sense of it etymologically, finding some meaning in the fact that “korban” (sacrifice) comes from k.r.v., “coming close”, and I do believe that the two are related; that becoming “close” can be … Continue reading →

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These Days of Purim: 3 shorts on a holiday that doesn’t make much sense

Posted on March 24, 2016 by Michal Kohane מיכל כהנא

There is a word missing from Esther 5:1. It says, “and Esther wore royalties’ – ותלבש אסתר מלכות. Shouldn’t it have said, that she wore royal garments? But rather, she wore royalty itself. According to the Malbim (European commentator of … Continue reading →

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To Remember & Forget

Posted on March 19, 2016 by Michal Kohane מיכל כהנא

I step out of my neighbor’s house and something about the evening air, angle of dim streetlights, and the general silence around, reminds me of the last time I was on the same stone steps. Back then, this past fall, … Continue reading →

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On Clothing and more

Posted on March 12, 2016 by Michal Kohane מיכל כהנא

“Write down 5 of your identities”, asked the speaker, “the first 5 that come to mind”. What shall I write? What makes me who I am? I scribble one, then two, then think. 5 is surely not enough to describe … Continue reading →

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Building a Mishkan- in time and space

Posted on March 5, 2016 by Michal Kohane מיכל כהנא

95% of couples get together due to a simple musical chairs game. You’re out there playing, dancing around and suddenly, the music stops, and this is it. You could have been fishing in Alaska, hiking in Nepal, diving near Bali, … Continue reading →

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