This evening we discuss the only Yartzeit mentioned explicitly in the Torah, in our Parsha, the death of Aaron on the first day of Av. We discuss how we should observe this Yartzeit, and different ways Yartzeit is observed around the Jewish world. We then focus on what has become a universal practice on a Yartzeit, saying Kaddish. We explore the history of this evocative prayer, its different versions, what the experience of saying Kaddish for a loved one should do for us and for our loved one, and how this prayer, which does not mention death or mourning, has become the Mourner's Prayer.

Michael Whitman is the senior rabbi of ADATH Congregation in Hampstead, Quebec, and an adjunct professor at McGill University Faculty of Law. ADATH is a modern orthodox synagogue community in suburban Montreal, providing Judaism for the next generation. We take great pleasure in welcoming everyone with a warm smile, while sharing inspiration through prayer, study, and friendship.

Rabbi Whitman shares his thoughts and inspirations through online lectures and shiurim, which are available on:

YouTube: https://tinyurl.com/adathyoutube

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/adathmichael/

Podcast - Mining the Riches of the Parsha:

Apple Podcasts - https://tinyurl.com/miningtheriches1

Spotify: https://tinyurl.com/miningtheriches3

Stitcher: https://tinyurl.com/miningtheriches4

Please contact Rabbi Whitman ([email protected]) with any questions for feedback, or to receive a daily email, "Study with Rabbi Whitman Today," with current and past insights for that day, video, and audio, all in one short email sent directly to your inbox.

This morning we discuss the two elements of an Eruv, which allows carrying on Shabbat - the boundaries formed by wires, fences, etc., and the joining together of all Jews within the Eruv into one household on Shabbat. We also explore what an Eruv does not permit; handling items that do not have a Shabbat purpose, and engaging in activities that are not permissible or in the spirit of Shabbat.

Michael Whitman is the senior rabbi of ADATH Congregation in Hampstead, Quebec, and an adjunct professor at McGill University Faculty of Law. ADATH is a modern orthodox synagogue community in suburban Montreal, providing Judaism for the next generation. We take great pleasure in welcoming everyone with a warm smile, while sharing inspiration through prayer, study, and friendship.

Rabbi Whitman shares his thoughts and inspirations through online lectures and shiurim, which are available on:

YouTube: https://tinyurl.com/adathyoutube

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/adathmichael/

Podcast - Mining the Riches of the Parsha:

Apple Podcasts - https://tinyurl.com/miningtheriches1

Spotify: https://tinyurl.com/miningtheriches3

Stitcher: https://tinyurl.com/miningtheriches4

Please contact Rabbi Whitman ([email protected]) with any questions for feedback, or to receive a daily email, "Study with Rabbi Whitman Today," with current and past insights for that day, video, and audio, all in one short email sent directly to your inbox.

This morning we discuss what I would have said, but Moshe did not say, to the tribes of Reuven and Gad who asked to remain outside Israel. And we tell a fascinating aspect of the remarkable story of the Mirrer Yeshiva in Shanghai, Japan, during World War II.

Michael Whitman is the senior rabbi of ADATH Congregation in Hampstead, Quebec, and an adjunct professor at McGill University Faculty of Law. ADATH is a modern orthodox synagogue community in suburban Montreal, providing Judaism for the next generation. We take great pleasure in welcoming everyone with a warm smile, while sharing inspiration through prayer, study, and friendship.

Rabbi Whitman shares his thoughts and inspirations through online lectures and shiurim, which are available on:

YouTube: https://tinyurl.com/adathyoutube

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/adathmichael/

Podcast - Mining the Riches of the Parsha:

Apple Podcasts - https://tinyurl.com/miningtheriches1

Spotify: https://tinyurl.com/miningtheriches3

Stitcher: https://tinyurl.com/miningtheriches4

Please contact Rabbi Whitman ([email protected]) with any questions for feedback, or to receive a daily email, "Study with Rabbi Whitman Today," with current and past insights for that day, video, and audio, all in one short email sent directly to your inbox.

This morning we discuss the beginning of our Parsha, Mattot, which forms the background to Kol Nidre, our dramatic opening of Yom Kippur. We explore Stephen Covey's distinction between honesty and integrity, and we analyze Rabbi Tzvi Hersh Weinreb's application of this to understand why Kol Nidre is in fact our opening statement to God as Yom Kippur begins - to say, God, we are trying, and we need Your help!

Michael Whitman is the senior rabbi of ADATH Congregation in Hampstead, Quebec, and an adjunct professor at McGill University Faculty of Law. ADATH is a modern orthodox synagogue community in suburban Montreal, providing Judaism for the next generation. We take great pleasure in welcoming everyone with a warm smile, while sharing inspiration through prayer, study, and friendship.

Rabbi Whitman shares his thoughts and inspirations through online lectures and shiurim, which are available on:

YouTube: https://tinyurl.com/adathyoutube

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/adathmichael/

Podcast - Mining the Riches of the Parsha:

Apple Podcasts - https://tinyurl.com/miningtheriches1

Spotify: https://tinyurl.com/miningtheriches3

Stitcher: https://tinyurl.com/miningtheriches4

Please contact Rabbi Whitman ([email protected]) with any questions for feedback, or to receive a daily email, "Study with Rabbi Whitman Today," with current and past insights for that day, video, and audio, all in one short email sent directly to your inbox.

This morning we discuss the need for multiple sets of dishes in order to keep Kosher, which has its source in our Parsha. We explain the reasoning for this and analyze several scenarios, pointing out the pitfalls of eating kosher foods in a non-Kosher restaurant, including a vegetarian or vegan place, and the problem of buying fish from a fish store that has Kosher and non-Kosher items. Then we explain how to properly navigate eating Kosher ice cream from a store that has Kosher and non-Kosher flavors.

Michael Whitman is the senior rabbi of ADATH Congregation in Hampstead, Quebec, and an adjunct professor at McGill University Faculty of Law. ADATH is a modern orthodox synagogue community in suburban Montreal, providing Judaism for the next generation. We take great pleasure in welcoming everyone with a warm smile, while sharing inspiration through prayer, study, and friendship.

Rabbi Whitman shares his thoughts and inspirations through online lectures and shiurim, which are available on:

YouTube: https://tinyurl.com/adathyoutube

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/adathmichael/

Podcast - Mining the Riches of the Parsha:

Apple Podcasts - https://tinyurl.com/miningtheriches1

Spotify: https://tinyurl.com/miningtheriches3

Stitcher: https://tinyurl.com/miningtheriches4

Please contact Rabbi Whitman ([email protected]) with any questions for feedback, or to receive a daily email, "Study with Rabbi Whitman Today," with current and past insights for that day, video, and audio, all in one short email sent directly to your inbox.

This morning we discuss the proposal of two tribes to remain and settle outside Israel. Amidst Moshe's anger and frustration with their request, he negotiates an agreement, but with two subtle, crucial caveats - the underlying theme of which is family must come first - before things, before career, before personal fulfillment, before disappointments, before arguments. No matter what happens in your family, you must still be able to sit down to dinner together.

Michael Whitman is the senior rabbi of ADATH Congregation in Hampstead, Quebec, and an adjunct professor at McGill University Faculty of Law. ADATH is a modern orthodox synagogue community in suburban Montreal, providing Judaism for the next generation. We take great pleasure in welcoming everyone with a warm smile, while sharing inspiration through prayer, study, and friendship.

Rabbi Whitman shares his thoughts and inspirations through online lectures and shiurim, which are available on:

YouTube: https://tinyurl.com/adathyoutube

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/adathmichael/

Podcast - Mining the Riches of the Parsha:

Apple Podcasts - https://tinyurl.com/miningtheriches1

Spotify: https://tinyurl.com/miningtheriches3

Stitcher: https://tinyurl.com/miningtheriches4

Please contact Rabbi Whitman ([email protected]) with any questions for feedback, or to receive a daily email, "Study with Rabbi Whitman Today," with current and past insights for that day, video, and audio, all in one short email sent directly to your inbox.

This morning we discuss a classic lecture by Rabbi Yosef Soloveitchik, concerning why Moshe placed two hands on Joshua when God only asked him to place one. From this seemingly inconsequential detail, the Rav creates a symphony of meaning, demarking Jewish tradition and life into two layers, each one requiring one hand of Moshe to transfer it to Joshua as his successor. This explanation provides a road map for us to follow in every area of life, to emphasize the transmission of the second hand.

Michael Whitman is the senior rabbi of ADATH Congregation in Hampstead, Quebec, and an adjunct professor at McGill University Faculty of Law. ADATH is a modern orthodox synagogue community in suburban Montreal, providing Judaism for the next generation. We take great pleasure in welcoming everyone with a warm smile, while sharing inspiration through prayer, study, and friendship.

Rabbi Whitman shares his thoughts and inspirations through online lectures and shiurim, which are available on:

YouTube: https://tinyurl.com/adathyoutube

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/adathmichael/

Podcast - Mining the Riches of the Parsha:

Apple Podcasts - https://tinyurl.com/miningtheriches1

Spotify: https://tinyurl.com/miningtheriches3

Stitcher: https://tinyurl.com/miningtheriches4

Please contact Rabbi Whitman ([email protected]) with any questions for feedback, or to receive a daily email, "Study with Rabbi Whitman Today," with current and past insights for that day, video, and audio, all in one short email sent directly to your inbox.

This evening we discuss a subject we often avoid: Jewish law and practice for mourners. Our goal is not just to understand what to do, but why, and what effect these practices should have on us. As we are in the middle of the Three Weeks of National Mourning, culminating August 7 with Tisha B'av, this is an appropriate time to focus on this subject, especially as the underlying message of every aspect of this subject is actually life affirming, to help us recognize how precious life is, and to prioritize what is more important in our lives, and to be inspired to lead more meaningful lives as a result of going though this process. Tonight we cover Bikku Cholim - visiting the sick, Onen - the period between death and the end of the funeral, The goal and responsibility of Hesped - eulogy, and the imperative, in the details of the funeral, to treat each person the same regardless of having more or less wealth.

Michael Whitman is the senior rabbi of ADATH Congregation in Hampstead, Quebec, and an adjunct professor at McGill University Faculty of Law. ADATH is a modern orthodox synagogue community in suburban Montreal, providing Judaism for the next generation. We take great pleasure in welcoming everyone with a warm smile, while sharing inspiration through prayer, study, and friendship.

Rabbi Whitman shares his thoughts and inspirations through online lectures and shiurim, which are available on:

YouTube: https://tinyurl.com/adathyoutube

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/adathmichael/

Podcast - Mining the Riches of the Parsha:

Apple Podcasts - https://tinyurl.com/miningtheriches1

Spotify: https://tinyurl.com/miningtheriches3

Stitcher: https://tinyurl.com/miningtheriches4

Please contact Rabbi Whitman ([email protected]) with any questions for feedback, or to receive a daily email, "Study with Rabbi Whitman Today," with current and past insights for that day, video, and audio, all in one short email sent directly to your inbox.

This morning we present the deeply troubling actions of Pinchas in a different light, using the work of Dr. Phillip Zimbardo in his work, "The Lucifer Effect, and remarkable quotes from Ernest Becker ("Denial of Death") and Jodi Picoult ("My sister's Keeper"), leading us to the real life example of Wesley Autrey - a hero you should know about.

Michael Whitman is the senior rabbi of ADATH Congregation in Hampstead, Quebec, and an adjunct professor at McGill University Faculty of Law. ADATH is a modern orthodox synagogue community in suburban Montreal, providing Judaism for the next generation. We take great pleasure in welcoming everyone with a warm smile, while sharing inspiration through prayer, study, and friendship.

Rabbi Whitman shares his thoughts and inspirations through online lectures and shiurim, which are available on:

YouTube: https://tinyurl.com/adathyoutube

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/adathmichael/

Podcast - Mining the Riches of the Parsha:

Apple Podcasts - https://tinyurl.com/miningtheriches1

Spotify: https://tinyurl.com/miningtheriches3

Stitcher: https://tinyurl.com/miningtheriches4

Please contact Rabbi Whitman ([email protected]) with any questions for feedback, or to receive a daily email, "Study with Rabbi Whitman Today," with current and past insights for that day, video, and audio, all in one short email sent directly to your inbox.

This morning I share a remarkable story I heard form Rabbi Paysach Krohn. The story involves a cake, and the punchline is a quote from our Torah portion, Pinchas. Sometimes, the best way to confront someone is with a cake - with icing!

Michael Whitman is the senior rabbi of ADATH Congregation in Hampstead, Quebec, and an adjunct professor at McGill University Faculty of Law. ADATH is a modern orthodox synagogue community in suburban Montreal, providing Judaism for the next generation. We take great pleasure in welcoming everyone with a warm smile, while sharing inspiration through prayer, study, and friendship.

Rabbi Whitman shares his thoughts and inspirations through online lectures and shiurim, which are available on:

YouTube: https://tinyurl.com/adathyoutube

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/adathmichael/

Podcast - Mining the Riches of the Parsha:

Apple Podcasts - https://tinyurl.com/miningtheriches1

Spotify: https://tinyurl.com/miningtheriches3

Stitcher: https://tinyurl.com/miningtheriches4

Please contact Rabbi Whitman ([email protected]) with any questions for feedback, or to receive a daily email, "Study with Rabbi Whitman Today," with current and past insights for that day, video, and audio, all in one short email sent directly to your inbox.