Posted on: March 6th, 2013

Dear Rebbetzin Jungreis, The letter you shared last week from a troubled wife who became a ba’alas teshuvah, a returnee to religious observance, hit a sensitive spot in my heart. My husband and I have also been struggling with this problem – albeit from a different perspective.

Posted on: February 28th, 2013

The Gemara says that anything made forbidden by a court must have an explicit permission put forth by another court in order for the prohibition to be removed.

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Posted on: February 28th, 2013

“And you (Moshe) speak to the Children of Israel saying, ‘But my Shabbos you are to observe; for it is a sign between Me and you for your generations, to know that I am Hashem Who sanctifies you” (Shemos 31:13).

Posted on: February 28th, 2013

If you took a bus to synagogue on a rainy Shabbat or Yom Tov day, with umbrella in hand, would that be OK? There is no melachah involved because you are not driving. There is no amira le’nochri (asking a non‑Jew to perform a melachah on your behalf) involved because you are not asking the non‑Jew to drive for you. He is driving of his own accord for other non‑Jews. There is no violation of techum Shabbat (the prohibition not to travel on Shabbat or Yom Tov more than 2,000 amot beyond one's residence), because the bus travels only in the city.

Posted on: February 27th, 2013

Question: May someone who desecrates the Sabbath lead the services if he has yahrzeit? If yes, may he replace someone else who has yahrzeit? Hayim Grosz (Via E-Mail)

Posted on: February 27th, 2013

The Golds were planning a two-week vacation. Mrs. Gold did not want to travel with her jewelry, but was concerned about leaving it in their apartment while they traveled.

Posted on: February 27th, 2013

Question: The Talmud (Ta’anit 29a) notes that we should be more joyous starting from the beginning of Adar. Does this period of joy continue after Purim?

Posted on: February 27th, 2013

Moshe Rabbeinu was the greatest human being who ever lived. The Rambam tells us that of all the prophets he alone was able to speak to Hashem directly. Normally, a prophet must go into an altered state of consciousness to experience Hashem. Otherwise the experience would cause sensory overload, and he would die.

Posted on: February 27th, 2013

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Posted on: February 27th, 2013

Out On A Limb ‘One May Reset A Fracture’ (Shabbos 148a)

Posted on: February 27th, 2013

The first and only time I said I was a rabbi was also the first and only time I had a gun pointed at me. What led me to that moment was my need to stay on the Upper West Side for a Shabbos and a hospitality committee that arranged for me to stay with a man who lived in the former janitor’s apartment on the fifth floor of a synagogue.

Posted on: February 27th, 2013

Framing the epic events of this week’s sedrah are two objects: the two sets of tablets – the first given before, and the second after, the sin of the Golden Calf. Of the first, we read: “The tablets were the work of G-d; the writing was the writing of G-d, engraved on the tablets.”

Posted on: February 27th, 2013

Last week I shared a letter from a troubled and confused young woman. She had become a ba’alas teshuvah after marriage. Her husband, however, has not changed his secular ways and thinking. The following is my response.

Posted on: February 22nd, 2013

Purim is a time of great celebration. Many of our traditions for this chag require food - festive meals, mishloach manos. Abundant food can mean abundant pitfalls for the food allergic. How can one navigate this maze of food allergy landmines?

Posted on: February 22nd, 2013

Here are some wonderful dishes to share with your family and friends this coming Purim

Posted on: February 21st, 2013

A colossal failure of mammoth proportions. Shaul HaMelech fails in his mission to destroy the nation of Amalek in its entirety and to this day, we suffer from its ever-present force of evil.

Posted on: February 21st, 2013

Someone sent me this e-mail: “The ABC’s of Purim: They tried to kill us. We survived. Let’s eat.”

Posted on: February 21st, 2013

Question: Why did Mordechai refuse to bow to Haman, thus endangering the entire Jewish people? Couldn’t he have simply fled Shushan?

Posted on: February 21st, 2013

This column is dedicated to the refuah sheleimah of Shlomo Eliezer ben Chaya Sarah Elka. This week we read parshas Zachor (Devarim 25:17), which details the attack of Amalek and the commandment for us to destroy any remembrance of them. There is a mitzvah to remember what Amalek did to us on the way when […]

Posted on: February 21st, 2013

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