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Chelm

Calligraphy by Rabbi Peretz Wolf-Prusan reading 'El na refa na la,' a line from this week's Torah portion.
Posted inColumns

This soothing healing prayer puts care and comfort into the world

Rabbi Peretz Wolf-Prusan by Rabbi Peretz Wolf-Prusan June 9, 2023June 9, 2023

The Torah column is supported by a generous donation from Eve Gordon-Ramek in memory of Kenneth Gordon. Beha’alotcha Numbers 8:1-12:16 The student watched the Rabbi of Chelm write out Hebrew letters on […]

Moses, Aaron and Hur during the Battle of Rephidim against the Amalekites.
Posted inTorah

In a world filled with Amalek thinking, do a mitzvah and blot it out

Rabbi Peretz Wolf-Prusan by Rabbi Peretz Wolf-Prusan February 23, 2023March 3, 2023
Chelm is a town known in European Jewish folklore as a community of holy fools. (Illustration/F. Halperin's "Khakme Khelm," Warsaw, 1926)
Posted inColumns

We cannot teach Torah by avoiding portions we don’t like

Rabbi Peretz Wolf-Prusan by Rabbi Peretz Wolf-Prusan May 13, 2022May 13, 2022
"The Two Priests Are Destroyed" by James Tissot, ca. 1900, shows Nadav and Avihu being struck down in this week's Torah portion, Shemini.
Posted inTorah

Why is the Rabbi of Chelm contemplating the Indigo Girls?

Rabbi Peretz Wolf-Prusan by Rabbi Peretz Wolf-Prusan March 25, 2022March 24, 2022
an antique drawing of a great cloud hovering over the mishkan with israelites worshipping
Posted inTorah

Our hands and heads held high, let’s scale those spiritual heights

Rabbi Peretz Wolf-Prusan by Rabbi Peretz Wolf-Prusan February 4, 2022February 4, 2022
A mural memorializing George Floyd in Minneapolis by Xena Goldman, Cadex Herrera and Greta McLain. (Photo/Lorie Shaull vai Flickr)
Posted inTorah

This week is Shabbat Shuvah — a time to practice creative discomfort

Rabbi Peretz Wolf-Prusan by Rabbi Peretz Wolf-Prusan September 10, 2021September 10, 2021
a colorful illustration of two men hefting a large branch with a large bunch of grapes on it
Posted inTorah

Without visiting, can you really know Israel?

Rabbi Peretz Wolf-Prusan by Rabbi Peretz Wolf-Prusan June 4, 2021June 3, 2021
(Photo/Flickr-zeevzeev CC BY 2.0)
Posted inTorah

Under the sukkah with the Rabbi of Chelm, the city of holy fools

Rabbi Peretz Wolf-Prusan by Rabbi Peretz Wolf-Prusan October 2, 2020October 1, 2020
Chelm is a town known in European Jewish folklore as a community of holy fools. (Illustration/F. Halperin's "Khakme Khelm," Warsaw, 1926)
Posted inTorah

Live from Chelm: Online class provides some virtual wisdom from a mythical shtetl

Rabbi Peretz Wolf-Prusan by Rabbi Peretz Wolf-Prusan August 14, 2020August 14, 2020
Lag Ba'omer is commonly celebrated with a big bonfire. (Photo/Flickr-Yoninah CC BY-SA 3.0)
Posted inColumns

Celebrating Lag Ba’Omer with the holy fools of Chelm

Rabbi Peretz Wolf-Prusan by Rabbi Peretz Wolf-Prusan May 3, 2018May 3, 2018

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