Judaism

A practical suggestion towards making a reality of the Mitzvos behind the meaning of the word “Eikev": Write down the two Mitzvos-going to a Beis Midrash, and going to Eretz Yisrael-on a piece of paper and hang it on the fridge. Each day, look at it and ask, “What have I done today in order to try and make these Mitzvos more of a reality?”

Who will guard the guards themselves? -Juvenal

In a very real way, davening is one of the final frontiers of Jewish life. Many learn a lot, engage in significant charity and have fine families, but their prayer is still very subpar.

It is difficult to understand why prayer not in fact a definitive mitzvah in the Torah.

In other words, it is not our strength at all that gives us the victory, but the workings of God.

Hashem is our go'el, our redeemer. The congregation of Israel was banished from the marital home because she had betrayed her Divine husband, but He never severed from her and He has been waiting for her repentance so that she could return.

The tension between the counselors and the rabbis grew almost to the point of crisis, so much so that we had to stop the course for an hour while we sought some way of reconciling what the counselors were doing with Torah.

It is interesting to note that the Shulchan Aruch in Orach Chaim (Chapter 307) rules that whereas it is not appropriate to read certain types of literature on Shabbos, if they are written in Hebrew, they may be read on Shabbos.

There exists an unfair balance in our world between building and destroying. While building needs planning and painstaking attention, and is accomplished step by step and layer by layer, destroying is easier and quicker.

"I want the very best." That's what we tell ourselves, isn't it? As human beings, we understand that there is a spectrum of quality...

Knowing that our brain cells are not fixed into unalterable patterns, people can understand that change is possible.

Is it proper for a husband/father or wife/mother to leave their family for an extended period of time?

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Ten years ago, when a good friend got married, she and another friend put together a book of lists and tips to help her organize her wedding. Since she enjoyed the project, Roni continued on her own to make these books for couples about to be married.

Throughout his leadership, he defiantly stood his ground on Jewish principles and never gave in to the pressure and threats from the Soviet government.

The reality is that sometimes our children need to unwind, to take a rest from the vicissitudes of life and once again focus on what’s really important – their family and loved ones.

Question: I came to the cemetery, only to find that a stone has never been placed over a close relative who died a year and a half ago. I spoke to the children and they tell me they will get to it when they have time. They seem to think that this is not a matter of any importance. I know that each rushed to take their share of the yerusha that was left them. I’m sure that in the will there is a set aside of money as well as a directive to place a monument. Please help me set them straight with sources that will prove their being obligated to erect a monument over their parent’s grave. I have another related question; while I was there I also noticed one or two monuments that were quite dilapidated. Should they and may they be replaced? Name withheld by request

At some point, I stopped and said to myself: 'Wait a minute, what is going on with me?' I felt a sense of obligation and began thinking: I represent something, but I know nothing about what I represent.

I just learned that all the gold in the world is not equivalent to the magnificence of one word of Torah. How foolish I was to sell fifty percent of my Torah ... for his gold coins.

Constitutions should consist only of general provisions; the reason is that they must necessarily be permanent, and that they cannot calculate for the possible change of things. -Alexander Hamilton

The Esh Kodesh teaches that each of us has an aspect of the Divine in us when we make moral choices to act or refrain from acting in certain ways.

It is a matter of perspective - do you look at G-d or at yourself? To look primarily at oneself is to always want more, to covet.

What happened to all the promises of Bereishit, that Abraham’s children would be numerous, uncountable, as many as the stars of the sky, the dust of the earth, and the grains of sand on a seashore?

It is entirely permissible for parents to find out the gender of their baby should they choose to do so. There is also nothing wrong with parents revealing to their friends and family their baby's gender.

The word meodecha in reality does not mean money. Rather, the word meod means ‘very much,’ as in the phrase tov me’od, it is very good. Thus, when we say that we are loving Hashem b’chol meodecha, we mean with all that is the very most dear to us.

How are we to combat this destructive tendency to compare ourselves to others? The first step is to internalize the fact that we truly have no idea what someone else might be struggling with.

As a young child, Joash was hidden away in the Holy Temple by his uncle Jehoiada, the Kohen Gadol, and later ascended the throne.

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I spent Shabbat in a Sefardi community, where cycling is common, and saw a teen whose bicycle chain had come off…. I exclaimed: “How great are the words of our Sages!”

Hashem, in His infinite wisdom, created our lives and the Jewish calendar so that we live through every day, in a way that will help us deal with whatever comes our way.