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Reuven Chaim Klein

May 10, 2026, 12:59 AM

Iyyar is in the Air – ziv & iyyar

As the month of Iyyar comes to a close this week, I thought it would be appropriate to discuss the two names for “the second month” in the Jewish Calendar — Ziv and Iyyar. That month is very special...

Apr 22, 2026, 12:19 AM

A Sacred Interface: The Soul, the Body, and the Case Against Cremation.

Why the Body Still Matters After Death. The convergence of the physical sciences and metaphysical frameworks reveals a strikingly consistent model of reality—one in which consciousness is not merely a byproduct of biological complexity but the very frequency that animates...

Reuven Chaim Klein

Apr 19, 2026, 12:20 AM

Facing Death – mitah, niftar

The Torah introduces the laws of the sacrificial services of Yom Kippur by noting that Hashem relayed them to Moses after the deaths (acharei mot) of Aharon’s two sons (Lev. 16:1). The Torah then continues to discuss various other topics, running...

Apr 11, 2026, 10:17 AM

Mishkan and Community: Sustaining the Joy and the Awe

Photo courtesy of the author.

This is Part Two of a two-part series by the author on Building and Sustaining Mishkan. Constructing a portable sanctuary for their God, as described in the biblical book of Exodus, was a community-wide endeavor for the ancient Israelites. They...

Reuven Chaim Klein

Apr 5, 2026, 5:08 PM

Moist and Wet – lach, ratuv, ra’anan, rutfash, tofeach, and mefulam

In this essay, we discuss six different words that mean “wet” in Hebrew: lach, ratuv, ra’anan, rutfash, tofeach, and mefulam. While on the surface, all of these words seem to mean the same thing — which would make them synonyms — we will delve into...

Mar 27, 2026, 5:44 PM

The Israelites’ Joy in Creating the Mishkan, God’s Earthly Abode

Photo courtesy of the author.

This is Part One of a two-part series on creating and sustaining a mishkan and bringing the biblical experience into the present day. When it came time for the ancient Israelites to celebrate the God who had just been revealed...

Reuven Chaim Klein

Mar 23, 2026, 6:16 AM

Eat your Passover Veggies – yerek, karpas

Every Jewish schoolboy knows that after reciting Kiddush at the Passover Seder (Kadesh), the next steps involve washing hands (Urchatz), and then dipping a vegetable and eating it (Karpas). The source for that custom of dipping a vegetable and...

Reuven Chaim Klein

Mar 4, 2026, 12:12 AM

Naming the Queen – Esther & Hadassah

After Achashverosh gets rid of his wife Vashti and begins the search for a new queen, the Scroll of Esther introduces the heroine of the Purim Story by stating that that a Jewish man named Mordechai lived in Shushan,...

Reuven Chaim Klein

Feb 23, 2026, 1:15 PM

Naming Mordecai – Mordechai, Malachi, & Petachyah

Throughout the Scroll of Esther, Mordechai (Mordecai) — the lead male hero of the story — is known by the name Mordechai. The Talmud (Chullin 139b) famously asks where we find an allusion to the name Mordechai in the Torah,...

Reuven Chaim Klein

Feb 7, 2026, 10:51 PM

Of Wounds and Bruises – petza and chaburah

When one person injures another, the Bible states that the damager must pay “an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth…” (Ex. 21:24). Of course, the rabbis teach (Bava Kamma 83b-84a) that this does not refer to any...

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