Shamai Leibowitz, at The Blogs

Jun 6, 2026, 12:14 AM

During takeoff, as an airplane accelerates down the runway, there is a critical moment when the copilot announces, "V1." What does it mean? It means the aircraft has reached a speed at which an aborted takeoff is no longer possible. There is...

May 18, 2026, 4:38 AM

Sivan’s Hidden Lesson

Yesterday we ushered in the Hebrew month of Sivan (סִיוָן). What is its origin? Linguists trace Sivan back to the ancient Akkadian word simanu, meaning a fixed season or an appointed time. Because the consonants m and v frequently interchange...

Apr 27, 2026, 7:47 AM

24,000 Dead—Twice. Coincidence or Message?

Several weeks of Sefirat HaOmer—until the 33rd day ("Lag BaOmer")—are observed as a period of semi-mourning. It is customary to avoid haircuts, weddings, and other celebratory events. While these specific customs developed in the medieval period, they are rooted in an...

Apr 14, 2026, 2:35 PM

Learning Nothing

"A Nazi guard beat me on my skull until my head was bleeding. I collapsed on the ground... I wanted to do the mitzvah of counting the Omer, so with all my strength, I sat up, said the blessing for sefirat...

Apr 10, 2026, 6:29 AM

Passover’s Most Important Line?

At the Seder, we end the Ha Lachma Anya (“This is the bread of affliction”) paragraph with a puzzling declaration: הָשַּׁתָּא עַבְדֵי, לְשָׁנָה הַבָּאָה בְּנֵי חוֹרִין “This year we are slaves; next year—liberated people.” But we are not slaves. We are free people,...

Mar 25, 2026, 8:06 PM

The Hidden Hebrew Root of Ramadan

Ramadan may have ended about a week ago—but it leaves behind a question that most Hebrew speakers would get wrong: Does 'Ramadan' have a Hebrew root? At first glance, the answer seems obvious: no. After all, it’s the 9th month...

Feb 25, 2026, 10:23 PM

Stop Reading ‘Zecher Amalek’ Twice. It’s a Mistake

Most Ashkenazi synagogues are making an unnecessary mistake this Shabbat. On Shabbat Zachor, the Shabbat before Purim, we read a special maftir section referencing the Amalekites' attack on the Israelites in the wilderness. By reading this short passage, we connect the duty...

Feb 4, 2026, 11:11 PM

When Delay Becomes Killing

In the Talmud (Shabbat 129a), when firewood was nowhere to be found, students once smashed and burned precious furniture to provide warmth for their dangerously ill teachers. When critics challenged: “Didn’t you violate Bal Tashchit (lit. ‘do not destroy’), the prohibition on...

Jan 11, 2026, 10:10 AM

Why the Torah Honors a Failure—Not a Hero

A Torah scribe generally has the freedom be begin each Torah column with any word. But there are six specific words in the entire Torah that must appear at the very top of a column. The first letters of these "Top 6" words form...

Dec 30, 2025, 10:49 AM

The Fast That Could Have Overridden Shabbat

Why did one medieval rabbi argue that today's fast, Asarah BeTevet, is so critical that it should override the joy of Shabbat itself? This fast marks the day in 587 BCE when the Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar began his brutal siege...

About Me

Adjunct professor of Hebrew and Judaics at the Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center. Born and raised in Israel. Law degree from Bar Ilan University and a Master's in International Legal Studies from American University Washington College of Law. Also, a Baal Kore at my shul. DISCLAIMER: The views expressed here are solely mine, and do not represent the views of DLIFLC or any other institution with which I am affiliated.

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