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God commanded our ancestors to be different, not because they were better than others For this reason, assimilation is the opposite of the answer.

Edward was completely mystified, yet had no choice but to obey his captain’s orders.

No matter what truly happened in any given situation, the media is there to chop up whatever "meat" is offered in the town square and hang that victim up by a noose for life.

For the washing machine to conceal the noise and smell of the factory, it had to be in use 24 hours a day – which adds up to a lot of loads for a small kibbutz. Even the clothing had to do its share for the nascent State...

Culture is not nature. There are causes in nature, but only in culture are there meanings.

David was surprised at the downright refusal, but he didn’t lose hope. He set out to another vendor and another vendor and another…

A person can get hurt, insulted, or offended by anyone. And when a person gets hurt by someone they care for and love, the pain is even greater.

Rabbi Shlomo is well known for his love of every single Jew and his ability to reach so many souls with his special music and his magnetic personality.

Every week, when we read the Torah portion about events that took place in the past, I'm not just reminded of a story that happened many years ago, rather I’m reminded of my roots and where I came from and what it is that G-d wants for me to learn from my forefathers and mothers.

I was dumbstruck. I couldn’t help but laugh. Here we thought the idea was my husband’s but obviously the idea came from somewhere else.

All social institutions in a free society depend on trust, and trust means honoring our promises, doing what we say we will do.

She spoke with a smile on her face, exuding a calm acceptance of her less-than-ideal circumstances.

After banning Jews from being augurs, diviners, sorcerers, and necromancers, the Torah commands that one should be “tamim with G-d” (Deut. 18:13).

On a day when we are experiencing weakness and frustration, we must try, nevertheless, to acknowledge G-d's presence. Use whatever strength we have to perform some small act of goodness, even if it seems insignificant.

We all go through our share of hard moments in life, and during the darkness we can hardly see any light. We try to hold onto the thought, that there is light at the end of the tunnel.

Once again neither of us had the tickets, but this time we knew to follow the unusual protocol and pick up our tickets at the airline counter. So we dutifully waited in line and requested our tickets. This time, however, no tickets awaited us.

We think of a sin as something we did intentionally, yielding to temptation perhaps, or in a moment of rebellion. That is what Jewish law calls b’zadon in biblical Hebrew or b’mezid in rabbinic Hebrew. That is the kind of act we would have thought calls for a sin offering. But actually such an act cannot be atoned for by an offering at all. So how do we make sense of the sin offering?

Avraham had a yeshiva background his whole life, and has a soft spot for others in need. The 5 other young men he has working on his farm, are boys that couldn’t find themselves in regular yeshiva settings and were headed for the streets to try their luck and see what would come up.

As human beings, we have the remarkable ability to jump to conclusions, assuming that we know the truth of a situation when we, in fact, have completely misjudged it.

This precise question does not arise in the Talmud. But young Reb Shlomo Zalman was able to marshal his breadth of knowledge and genius of application to render a most innovative ruling.

A fascinating Biblical echo

Reb Elimelech was concerned for every Jew but himself. Even when he was physically assaulted by an over-zealous misnagid, his reaction was typical: “Master of the Universe, I forgive him with my whole heart. Let no man be punished on my behalf.” But when Rabbi Levi Yitzchak of Berdichev was persecuted, Rabbi Elimelech rallied to support him. He was always there on behalf of others.

The disciples of Hillel hold that at a wedding you should sing that the bride is beautiful, whether she is or not.

The world we live in is exquisitely structured and ordered down to the finest details. Anyone who has studied physics, biology, or chemistry, or any form of science for that matter, has gotten a taste of the beauty and sophistication of our world’s order.

My good friend knew all the above already, as a good friend does, but she listened anyway.

Children need a strong environment, conducive to their development as Jews, while at the same time their Jewish education must provide them with so much pride that later in life they will be able to deal with the outside world as well and still be fully committed Jews.

This strange virus that has made so many changes within us…is basically Hashem trying to help us change in many different ways before the time of the redemption will come.

I recently returned from a visit to Eretz Yisrael, where I go yearly for my father's yahrzeit. As always, my husband, and my sister and her family accompanied me. On the way to the cemetery, we were fortunate to hail a taxi driver who spoke fluent English. He had made aliyah many years before from East Flatbush, where my husband and I lived.

Says Rav Elchanan, we see that even without the middas harachamim when one regrets his previous actions, even his mitzvos, he will not be held accountable for them.

During the day, except for the number which had been branded onto his arm, similar to what used to be done to cattle, no one would know that the smiling, sweet, hard-working Moshe had such a nightmarish past.