Judaism

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.

What Constitutes Schach? “Schach Boards” (Sukkah 14a)

I told him that the check was not for us, but for Malka's group. I glanced quickly at the check and I read $1,100. Not bad.

To say that he was a Jew who had Ahavas Yisroel is an understatement. He lived the life of all Jews. He felt pain from a fellow Jew’s pain, and rejoiced in a fellow Jew’s simcha.

There is much discussion as to exactly when the first Beit HaMikdash was destroyed. According to one account, it was destroyed on the 7th of Av, while according to another account, it was destroyed on the 10th of Av.

Question: I was taught that due to our mourning on Tisha B’av, we are not allowed to learn or discuss Torah. Since Torah causes us joy, we are forbidden to lessen our mourning with its study. While I understand why we read from Kinot and Eicha, how do we justify reading from the Torah at Shacharit and at Mincha? A further question, do these halachot apply to an individual during his/her seven days of mourning? Menachem Via email

My father did mention at one point that he owed you a few thousand dollars, acknowledged the son. That could be anything, though – two, three, four… How can you expect us to pay a large sum of $7,000 without any proof of how much was owed?

Many people are not reaching their fullest potential in learning, davening, and avodas Hashem in general. Many people lack motivation and are often in dire need of a spiritual uplifting, but do not know where to get it.

Apparently, she is the oldest woman in Israel. So we came to celebrate with her, with the aunt who always fascinated us with stories about the pioneers, the different waves of immigration, and the beginning of modern settlement in our land.

It is sometimes difficult to understand, but when Hashem is “angry” at us or punishing us, He is acting out of love for us because He knows that we have to improve.

The second Temple was destroyed because of baseless hatred, represented by the fox, which the sages saw emerging from the ruins. With the cunning and guile of a fox, the evil inclination instigates and stimulates baseless hatred, dissent, and strife.

According to the Vilna Gaon, the world currently stands exclusively on the pillar of chesed.

It’s up to us to condition our children that rain is an exciting, life-giving force that satisfies the needs of so very many in a short amount of time.

By viewing each day as a world onto itself and not worrying what the future may or may not bring, we make our service of Hashem much more manageable and increase the likelihood that we will be successful.

The elites – the Kohanim in the Beit HaMikdash and too many others – in their zealous self-righteousness, religious coercion, and insensitivity to the way they were being perceived by others, contributed to a terrible culture of animosity and hatred.

The Vilna Gaon told his disciples that Moshiach will come after the majority of the Jews in the Diaspora come to Israel. Thus, every Jew who makes aliyah hastens Moshiach’s coming, thereby transforming the fast of Tisha B’Av into a feast.

It is axiomatic that in Judaism we don’t merely commemorate or mark historical events. There is little purpose in celebrating or mourning the past.