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As we grow up and become more independent, we tend to think that we are in charge and that everything is in our hands.

Paula and her husband did far more than that – they went to visit her and managed to persuade her to allow them to apply for her to live in a Jewish home.

As crazy as it sounds, we never met face-to-face until we discovered that on the same Shabbos, she would be visiting her daughter in Monsey while I would be attending my grandson’s bar mitzvah.

Maimonides holds there is not one model of the virtuous life, but two. He calls them, respectively, the way of the saint and the sage. It is this deep insight that led Maimonides to his seemingly contradictory evaluations of the nazirite

While there is a yeshiva in existence, the world will be full with knowledge of Torah. The moment the yeshiva ceases to exist, the Torah will be forgotten from the entire world.

Rubashkin’s idea was sound. A kosher slaughterhouse located in Pottsville, Iowa provided many benefits for consumers of kosher meat and the local economy.

Minutes after my son and daughter left for school – it’s a ten-minute walk from our house – my son came running back to the house, all upset.

Sounding like a typical Lubavitcher, I told that just by striking the match, she is bringing more light into the world, so what’s the problem?

The Israeli sun was beautiful as it slowly descended in the horizon, but I could not enjoy it as I usually would have.

The utility workers in this area usually do not do these kind of repairs, but being a bitter cold night in December when pipes can freeze he was kind enough to help the home owners.

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.

As early morning phone calls go this was probably one of the least welcome ones to hear five days before our daughter’s wedding.

Now he was putting his faith only in Hashem and that he knew Hashem could help him.

The rav found the exchange humorous and happily shared it with my husband, who subsequently told it over to me.

If the Jewish inhabitants of Israel do not behave properly or hide behind the claim they are observant or moral while in fact they disobey the ethical dictates of God, the Book of Amos makes it clear that the State of Israel will not endure.

Why didn't I call an ambulance? I do not know. And believe me, I was not trying to be overly pious.

In the old days, it was a privilege to be mature. It was something people strived for. It meant maturity, well-considered opinions, and experience and knowledge of how to deal with the problems of life. This is no longer the case

The conclusion to the legal saga of whether Dr. Simcha Goldman could wear his yarmulke while serving in the US Air Force. Chodesh Tov!

I knew in my heart if I did not take my first step soon all my ambition would fizzle.

This week's parsha discusses the sudden and disturbing death of two of Aharon's sons, Nadav and Avihu

At this point I am reasonably happy that he returns home eventually and is still semi-coherent (at least some of the time).

Judaism is about new ideas. It is dependent on fresh concepts deeply rooted in its tradition. We must be aware that if we do not apply new remedies we should expect new evils,

Judaism survives due to Divine Providence and the foresight of Rabban Yochanan ben Zakkai who resisted cognitive breakdown, created solutions for tomorrow's problems, who did not seek refuge in the irrational, and who quietly built the Jewish future.

This tragedy was in the forefront of my mind as my family and I wended our way, the week before Pesach, from Har Nof, Jerusalem to Sha’ar Yeshuv.

It is perhaps this fact that makes Pesach so relevant for our own times: The realization that even at the time of the greatest of miracles, many years passed without God revealing Himself openly.

Perhaps the institution of sacrifice is grounded in deep symbolism, the meaning and urgency of which escapes our modern mentality.

But, that morning my cold had developed into something far worse and I just knew I wasn’t going to get to the bris.

Why should unintentional sins require atonement at all? What guilt is involved? Had the offender known he would not have done what he did. Why then does he have to undergo a process of atonement?

The ongoing legal saga of whether Dr. Simcha Goldman could wear his yarmulke while serving in the US Air Force

Our first six children had been born in the Holy Land, but ironically every one of them married and set up home in the United States.