The Festival of Succot: Joy and Fragility Dear friends, Sukkot, the Feast of Tabernacles, in which we remember the salvation of the Jewish People at the mercy of the elements in Sinai and our 40-year journey from Egypt to the Land of Israel, is also referred to as HeHag[1], TheFestival, to emphasize its especially joyful […]
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Rabbi Carlos Tapiero about the High Holy Days 5778
Dear Friends, The Founder of Hasidism, the Baal Shem Tov, sat down as he had so often, to respond to a letter of consultation, this one from the Rebbe of Pulno. Quietly, seriously, he set himself to the task of weighing every word so as to persuade the Rebbe of Pulno away from what the […]
Shavuot message from Rabbi Carlos Tapiero
Shavuot and the chain of Jewish continuity Dear friends, Shavuot, for all its various themes and names[1], is mainly the Festival of our Receiving the Torah – the Book that made us the People we are. According to rabbinical description, on the 6th of Sivan more than 3300 years ago, the Kadosh Baruch Hu […]
50th Jerusalem Day – Message from Rabbi Carlos Tapiero
Yom Yerushalaim Message 50th Jerusalem Day Dear Friends, For those who live our daily lives in the great city restored to our People, the significance of this 50th Jerusalem Day since liberation and reunification is immense. Between 1948 and 1967, places holy to our faith were destroyed and desecrated, and no Jews […]
Lag BaOmer message by rabbi Carlos Tapiero
33 Day of the Omer ל”ג בעומר – The various meanings of Fire Dearfriends, Human beings feel a certain fascination towards fire, and especially, bonfires. Many of us have experienced memorable moments around bonfires, sharing not only the heat and light, but also songs, histories, dialogues, friendship and love, significant because we […]
Tu Bishvat message from rabbi Carlos Tapiero
ט”ו בשבט Tu[1]Bishvat– history and History Dear friends, Tu Bishvat – the 15th day of the Hebrew month of Shvat – celebrates “the New Year of the Trees”, is the renewal of the natural cycle in the Land of Israel, represented by the blossoming of the almonds. This is a time of great […]
Hanukkah message from Carlos Tapiero
אור חנוכה The Light of Chanukah Dear friends, Chanukah celebrates the miraculous military victory of the Jewish People over the powerful Seleucid kingdom[1]. We celebrate this historic milestone by evoking another miracle – the miracle of light[2], re-inaugurating the Beit-Hamikdash(the Great Temple) and restoring the light of its eternal flame. 235 years after the […]
Succot message from rabbi Carlos Tapiero
The Festival of Succot and the Four Species Dear friends, The Festival of Succot is also Chag HaAsif, the harvest festival, marking the agricultural character of these dates – the end of summer in the Land of Israel, with its consequent last great harvest and the start of the season of rest for our […]
High Holy Days message from rabbi Carlos Tapiero
Kfar Maccabiah, Wednesday, September 14, 2016 High Holy Days 5777 Message Dear Friends, A freezing Central European winter’s night, roads, trees and houses blanketed by snow and laced with ice, penetrating the bones and spirits of the men of Luntzitz, the small town illuminated by the wisdom of Rabbi Chaim Auerbach. All were now sheltered […]
Shavuot message from rabbi Carlos Tapiero
Shavuot, Ruth and the Jewish self Dear friends, During the Festival of Shavuot we read one of the most moving Meguilot of the Writings of the Bible: Megillat Ruth. This is a short book, just 4 chapters. It tells the story of Ruth the Moabite, who, despite having lost her husband in a sudden […]
Jerusalem Day message from rabbi Carlos Tapiero
Yom Yerushalaim Message Jerusalem, between Heaven and Earth Dear Friends, Probably no word, image, concept or place so instantly excites our Jewish souls as Jerusalem, our ancient, promised City, transformed over millennia of dispossession into a dream and desire, an idea that became the symbol of our national redemption, so long yearned-for, achieved in […]
Lag BaOmer message from rabbi Carlos Tapiero
Lag BaOmer Message Bar Kochba and Ben-Gurion: FROM INSPIRATION TO ACTION Dear Friends, Military victories led by Shimon Bar Kochba gave the People of Israel nearly 3 years of national independence during 132-135 CE (Common Era); we celebrate that Great Hebrew Revolt on Lag BaOmer (May 26 this year), but it also led to the […]
Yom HaShoa message from rabbi Carlo Tapiero
יום השואה והגבורה YOM HASHOAH – HOLOCAUST DAY The duty of memory Dear friends, We are a People with a long memory for history. In recalling our redemption from slavery in Egypt 3300 years ago, we celebrated the very act of our birth as a Nation. In joy or sadness, many of our holidays […]
Pesach message from rabbi Carlos Tapiero
פסח, חרות והעשייה היהודית-ציונית Pessach, freedom and Jewish continuity Dear Friends, In these days of the Hebrew month of Nissan we direct our hearts and open our arms to receive another celebration of Passover: – hearts, to rejoice in our liberation as a People from the yoke of slavery in Egypt; – arms, cleaning […]
Purim message from rabbi Carlos Tapiero
פורים, הלל, גאולה ומדינת ישראל Purim, Hallel, Redemption, and the State of Israel Dear Friends, Our Sages determined several ways to celebrate our joyous occasions and events as a People. One very meaningful and musical way includes singing Hallel during our happiest Festivities. Hallel is a compendium of six Psalms (#’s 113-118) attributed to our […]
Maccabi Holland in Budapest!
This December, Maccabi Holland visited Hungary! The team had a chance to visit Budapest’s Jewish historical sites, and also visited the Scheiber Sandor Jewish school where they held a joint demonstration and learned about krav maga, wrestling, boxing, and karate. Even though their visit was short, we set aside time to discuss the cooperation between […]
Maccabi San Diego in Hungary
This April, the San Diego Maccabi team visited Hungary! The team visited Budapest’s beautiful sights, inculding the famous Jewish quarters, the Vac Jewish communities, Szentendre, and the Szanto house. They learned about Hungary’s and the Maccabi VAC’s past, present and future. More specifically, they learned about Alfred Hajos, the first Hungarian Olympic Champion at the […]