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In the midst of my misery it hits me. I am going about this wrong. I take a deep breath and try to control my sobs.

Many believe you need to eat large quantities of matzah and drink a lot of wine to fulfill your chiuv. The truth is much more pleasant than that.

Judaism is “gratitude with attitude.” And this, according to recent scientific research, really is a life-enhancing idea and the source of the command to give thanks is to be found in this week’s parsha

Did all those broken and hurt people expect the last words of Yosef – “And G-d will surely redeem you from here,” which he uttered on his deathbed – to come true?

Rubashkin was treated like no other defendant ever arrested on illegal immigration violations. The federal prosecutors sent marshals to handcuff and shackle him as they led him past a phalanx of waiting photographers and TV crews

It was so crowded and confusing that one father, who was there accompanying his eighteen-year-old daughter, was assigned the responsibility of determining everyone’s place on the queue and then seating them in that order.

The Shaagas Aryeh explains that the Gemara that says that we will be redeemed in Nissan is referring to the set time for the geulah, which is in Nissan. However, Mashiach can actually come any month of the year, on any day.

We can be good at many things, but what gives a life direction and meaning is a sense of mission, of something we are called on to do. That is the significance of the opening word of today’s parsha, Vayikra.

We all know that cleaning the house for Pesach is a mitzvah, but what are our thoughts as we fulfill it?

Are today’s rulings transformative, or do they promote stagnation? Shall we have prophetic halacha, or collapsed halacha? We have to re-create halacha so that it once again becomes the manifestation of holy deeds that generate marvel and amazement in every part of our lives.

The water got warm, then hot, and then boiling hot. This was going too far. To pretend to myself is one thing. To feel like the water was hot is quite another.

Shame on all those who cannot recognize when they have such tremendous blessing right in front of their face.

For two thousand years in the absence of a Temple its place was taken by the synagogue. Why, if the Torah is timeless, does it devote such space to what was essentially a time-bound structure? The answer is deep and life-transforming,

What do hamentaschen and matzahs have in common? What connection could there be between Pharaoh and Haman, Moses and Mordecai, Miriam and Esther?

Though my father lives in another area of Staten Island, he has been intermittently involved with this synagogue since its inception.

We must also work together to create a culture in our country that embraces the dignity of life, that creates deep and meaningful human connections, and that turns classmates and colleagues into friends and neighbors.

We must never forget that when Aaron was left to lead, the people made a golden calf. But never forget that Moses needed an Aaron to hold the people together. In short, leadership is the capacity to hold together different temperaments, conflicting voices and clashing values.

Purim Sameach!

It’s doing the right thing even when it might seem like it’s the opposite of what everyone else is doing, even though you know, that it’s the right thing.

My family always found an open and warm welcome when they flew in for a family simcha, but now due to Hashem’s goodness and kindness I am now living in close proximity to several of my children.

The sedrah of Tetzaveh, in which the name of Moses is missing and the focus is on Aaron, reminds us that our heritage derives from both. Moses is a man of history, of epoch-making events.

“Blot out the memory of Amalek” may quite well mean that we are obligated to uproot from within ourselves the ways in which our ancestors dealt with the ancestors of Amalek.

The entire world is like a body or a vessel, and Israel is the soul that makes the body run.

While we rejoice at the recent release of Shalom Mordechai Rubashkin from prison, the series continues this month and beyond.

They were genuinely thrilled, but tempered their enthusiasm somewhat with a sobering reality check, “You know he’s flying right into a winter blizzard, right?”

Parshat Terumah begins the seismic shift from the intense drama of the Exodus, with its wonders and epic events, to the detailed narrative of how the Israelites constructed the Mishkan--the Tabernacle. The Nation begins building its HOME.

We suggest all Jews and Israelis enter a small synagogue filled with dedicated and passionate worshippers, and then to release all external and artificial components from their souls; to penetrate the surroundings in which they find themselves, and then to let go. Th

She told me, pointing to a blue and orange set. It wasn’t exactly a color scheme that I appreciated, nor was it especially fancy for yom tov, but having shlepped out and waited this long, I wasn’t ready to head home without something to show for my time.

According to the opening line of the famous song Shoshanas Yaakov, Klal Yisrael was extremely happy when they saw “techeiles Mordechai.” What is “techeiles Mordechai”?

One passage in this week’s sedrah shows how differences in interpretation can lead to, or flow from, profound differences in culture. Ironically, the subject concerned – abortion – remains deeply contentious to this day.