The Status Of A Fetus In Halacha (Part IX)
Even a katan has enough da'as to qualify as a rodef; by engaging in this type of act, the katan shows that he has at least some form of da'as.
Too Much Love/Hate As We Ponder The Inauguration
Kinas sofrim (the envy of scholars) can actually be a good thing; it’s the Torah phrase for healthy competitiveness in the learning of Torah, to fight for the truth.
Freedom And Truth
Outside the promised land Jews in the biblical age are in danger if they tell the truth. They are at constant risk of being killed or at best enslaved.
The Language Of Redemption
It is possible to be enslaved but not to suffer brutality, and also to be tormented without being a slave.
The Subversive Jewish Wisdom Aristotle Would Not Hear
While I respect many of the moral accomplishments of the West, I believe that Judaism still has much to offer in critique of the West’s many remaining failings.
Classified Information
When a person is beleaguered with problems that disrupt his avodas Hashem and his Torah learning, he may ponder why he is suffering when his friend – who is not as devout – enjoys the good life, is well-to-do and at peace.
What’s Your Potential?
Reb Moshe asks, Why would we need someone coming out of a coma to teach us something so obvious?
Promises of Geulah
How often in ancient and contemporary Jewish history have we seen things become desperate before they improved? And yet we persevered and survived. And with this perseverance, our faith in G-d as our ultimate savior survived too.
How The Past Inspires Faith In The Future
The very experience the Avot lacked, their descendants had. The Jewish people in Egypt had the history of Hashem’s interactions with the Avot to build upon. He had fulfilled His promise to give the Avot the land of Israel, and they had successfully inhabited it.
Why Strive For Greatness?
Hashem was internally good, but He was not actively expressing this goodness by giving or doing good unto others. Hashem chose to express His capacity for doing good unto others by creating man, upon whom Hashem would bestow the ultimate goodness.
Well-Staffed
This staff was given by G-d to Adam HaRishon. It was then passed down from generation to generation, to Shet, Chanoch, Metushelach, Noach, Shem, Avraham, Yitzchak, Yaakov and then to Yosef.
Too Good to Be True: When Perfect Testimony Raises Red Flags
This raises an important question: When should leaders and authorities confront and rebuke immoral behavior, and when is it wise to remain silent?
The Pilot Within
Sometimes we may wonder why we need to daven so much. Isn’t praying three times a day on a weekday a bit much?
When You Think You Are Alone – You Are Not
I was terrified of the fall that seemed inevitable. Suddenly I felt my hands holding onto a handle which I had not seen before. Now holding onto the handle I was able to steady myself. The crisis was over. Days later I thought that Hashem put my hands on that handle.
Long Couch
On his way home from work, Mr. Appel pondered the issue. I sense that Mr. Berger is really disappointed, he said to himself. Is it right of us to refuse him?
Daf Yomi
D’tzach, Adash, B’achav
‘Everyone Is Qualified To Judge’
(Sanhedrin 36b)
Introductions – Parshat Shemot
Which father?
The Rebirth Of The Yerach Ben Yomo: The Ishei Yisrael Siddur
Nowadays, stressing the shva na is an accepted and fairly common element in many siddurim. But when Ishei Yisrael appeared, it wasn’t common at all.
I Fear We Are Losing Our Way
In Israel, elections are held on a national level with voters casting ballots for political parties rather than for individual candidates. This system, while effective in ensuring that political parties gain power based on their collective support, undermines individual representation.
Torah Shorts: Parshat Shemot: The Diamond in the Cesspool
Each of us is like a diamond, and each of us has the potential to be brilliant. -Simon T. Bailey
Q & A: A Mechalel Shabbat In A Minyan (Part III)
Question: I live in a small community where it is sometimes a struggle to get a minyan together. When this occurs on Shabbos this is extremely upsetting. I am so concerned that I was wondering – may we ask some of the non-observant Jews who live in the neighborhood to join us to complete a minyan?
Name withheld
Via E-mail
Who Named Moshe and What Does His Name Connote? – Parshat Shemot
Did Pharaoh's Daughter Speak Hebrew?
Redeeming Relevance: Beginnings and Ends: Musings about History
Historical perspective should humble us. It should make us realize how little we understand the true nature of what is going on around us. But it should also make us realize that things truly worthwhile have a staying power.
The Status Of A Fetus In Halacha (Part VIII)
Another fundamental nafka minah is whether one needs to have kavanah (intent) in order to be categorized as a rodef.
Hashem Has Accounted For Us
The double language of reckoning also encompasses two aspects of the Divine Judgment that the true redeemer would have to know to invoke – Hashem will do good to Israel and lead us out of our misfortune, and He will also punish those who tormented us and hold them accountable.
Who Am I?
Consider, now, the choices Moses faced in his life. On the one hand he could have lived as a prince of Egypt, in luxury and at ease. That might have been his fate had he not intervened.
Seize The Moment
The thought process of believing that rather than having a child murdered he would separate from his wife was incorrect. Miriam revealed the will of Heaven that the exact opposite was appropriate.
Chazak, Chazak, V’nis’chazeik!
While the yeitzer hara has many arrows in his quiver, and his aim is focused on getting us to speak lashon hara and to fight with our spouse, to look at the wrong things, and to say hurtful words, there is nothing that the yeitzer hara tries harder to accomplish than to stop people from learning Torah.
Headlines
Latest News Stories
Recommended Today
Sponsored Posts
