Modeh Ani Lifanecha
I realized how lucky we were that Hashem had woken me from my sleep in time to deal with the fumes which were slowly overtaking our house.
Q & A: Shehecheyanu During The Three Weeks
Question: Why is saying Shehecheyanu prohibited during the Three Weeks? How is it different than other blessings?
M. Jakobowitz
Philadelphia, PA
May One Shower During the Nine Days?
Before bathing, one must honestly assess whether or not it is needed for hygienic purposes. Failure to do so displays insensitivity to mourning the Beit HaMikdash and our nation's exile.
Pre-Commitment Devices
Even though we generally abstain from taking oaths nowadays, figuring out other ways to up the ante and solidify our commitment is essential.
Priorities: Parshat Matot
Moses’ implied rebuke to the tribes of Reuben and Gad is not a minor historical detail but a fundamental statement of Jewish priorities. Property is secondary, children primary.
Flattery Will Get You Nowhere
Flattery is such a grievous avairah that Tosafos even discusses whether flattery is permissible in an emergency.
Guns Kill People AND People Kill People; American and Gilead
One of the more fruitless political debates in the United States is whether strict restriction of gun permits would add to public safety. One of the reasons it is fruitless is that both sides muster flawed analogies to other societies.
A Thought For The Three Weeks
The overwhelming majority of machlokesim and acts of kana’us performed today are not l’sheim Shamayim.
Our National Weapon (Part Two)
When you’re davening in shul and fervently say, “Shema koleinu, Hashem Elokeinu – Listen to our voices, Hashem, our G-d,” think to yourself that everyone in shul is asking for something different.
Relationships
Many people today are being sucked into the electronic and computerized devices. The youth suffer from this connection more than anyone else.
Is It Proper…? Should a Frum Jew Care If An Animal Species is Endangered...
Should a frum Jew care if an animal species is endangered or goes extinct?
Watchers
On my watch
He Hasn’t Missed A Daf… Since 1961
Asked if he ever thought of quitting, Rabbi Rosenshein said, “Never. You don’t live without it.”
Daf Yomi
Permission Granted?
‘Lo Yachlifenu B’Shel Acheirim…’
(Temurah 9a)
Social And Emotional Intelligence
One answer is that having this ruach is simply a gift from G-d. I either have it or I don’t. All I can do is daven and hope that Hashem grants me these abilities.
Parshat Pinchas
Ben-Gurion understood both the strategic and symbolic value of Yerushalayim.
Q & A: Bal Tachshit During The Nine Days (Part II)
Question: May a person eat leftover Shabbos meat in the Nine Days so as not to violate the prohibition of bal tashchit (wastefulness)?
Rabbi Yaakov Spivak
Rosh Kollel, Kollel Ayshel Avraham
Monsey, NY
She Cleaned The Wrong House
The Gemara [Bava Metzia 76a] states that if someone instructed an employee to work in his neighbor's property, the employer is liable to pay the person’s salary.
Our National Weapon
Utilizing our wonderful and brave IDF is a marvelous example of proper hishtadlus.
Cry With Hashem
He then called out, “Zechariah, Zechariah, I have killed the best. Do you want me to kill them all?”
Rav Herzog – On His 60th Yahrzeit
"Starting today, every child to us is like one thousand children." These words were said by Rabbi Herzog to the Pope after the Holocaust when he went out on a journey to find Jewish children who were transferred to convents and monasteries to avoid deportation to Nazi concentration camps, and were baptized to Christianity there. Rav Herzog wound up returning many children to their faith, people, and homeland.
Parshat Pinchas
Hashem gave us the Torah and we forged a connection with Him. The bond that existed after Har Sinai wasn't temporary, it was tamid, constant.
Rising From The Ashes
Devorah bravely faced the cameras to thank all the many people who were helping them to return to their home.
Do We Really Need Moshiach?
Moshiach, when he comes, will reveal the deeper reasons for every detail of Torah observance – why it is necessary to perform particular mitzvos in specific ways and what each detail accomplishes in the spiritual realm.
Heavy Taxes And Empty Pockets
Another Hebrew word for tax is meches, appearing six times in chapter 31 of Sefer Bamidbar.
Following Moshe
Dignity is not a privilege of birth. Honor is not confined to those with the right parents. In the world defined and created by Torah, everyone is a potential leader.
Never Too Late To Say I’m Sorry
Hurting or upsetting any person is a very serious sin, especially in the eyes of the Creator who created us all and loves all of His children.
Matot: The Stakes in Choosing Where We Live
Location, Location, Location