Reluctant Reference!
Mr. Lazer ran a successful restaurant. He employed close to twenty people: a chef, cooks and a baker; waiters and waitresses; supply and maintenance personnel; and two cashiers. At the end-of-year accounting, something seemed amiss. There was a small but noticeable discrepancy in the cash receipts of his enterprise. In the following semi-annual account, a similar discrepancy was noted.
Blood On The Mizbeach
In this week’s parshah the Torah discusses many different halachos that pertain to korbanos. Regarding the korban olah, the pasuk tells us that the entire animal must be brought on the mizbeach and is burned.
Q & A: Preparing For Pesach
Question: We are ba’alei teshuvah in the process of becoming more observant. We wish to kasher our home and utensils for Passover with minimal expense. Do you have any suggestions?
Names withheld by request
Daf Yomi
The Kotel And The Mall
‘Sratya u’Platya’
(Eruvin 7a)
When A Pause Makes All The Difference
Question: Does it matter where one pauses when one recites the daily prayers?
Toveling
“You must sanctify yourselves and be holy,” the Torah tells us, “for I, the Lord your God, am holy.” The service of God in our lives should simulate the service of God in the Temple. Just as the kohen, the priest, was required to enter God’s Temple in a state of taharah, spiritual cleanliness, we are required to enter God’s world in a state of taharah.
Dealing With Rebellious Teenagers
Last week I shared a letter from a troubled mother. Her story is typical of many ba’al teshuvah families who discover the Torah way of life in their middle years only to encounter resentment on the part of their adolescent children. Very often these teenagers become angry at the new restrictions in their home.
Shabbos Mevorchim Nissan: Spring … Rebirth … Renewal
On this Shabbos, Shabbos Parshas Ha’Chodesh, we bentch the new month of Nissan — referred to in the Torah as Chodesh Ha’Aviv, the month of spring. Rosh Chodesh falls on Yom Shlishi (Tuesday), heralding the start of a new lunar year and commemorating the inception of the mitzvah of Rosh Chodesh.
Parshiyot Vayakheil-Pekudei
When Bnei Yisrael donated money to build the golden calf all they got was a very small calf. This was despite a very successful fundraising campaign. Yet nobody questioned where all the money went.
Visiting The Sick On Shabbat
Visiting the sick, bikur cholim, is one of the mitzvot listed in the prayer “Eilu devarim she’ein lahem shiur” – “These are the things that have no measure.” According to our sages, the Torah itself stresses the importance of bikur cholim in several places.
Q & A: A Sabbath Desecrator Leading Services (Part VII)
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)
Daf Yomi
Waiting For Kiddush
‘Mazal Bears No Influence…’
(Shabbos 156a)
Men Are From Mars
The Torah specifies that the washbasin in the Mishkan was made of copper taken from the mirrors that the women brought as donations. Rashi explains that by telling us where the copper came from the Torah is teaching a significant lesson.
Tzitzit – Inside Or Out?
Question: Must a Jew’s tzitzit strings hang on the outside of his pants?
Guardian’s Oath!
"Look at this sefer," Yoel said to his friend Menashe. "It's written by Rav Mordechai Eliyahu, zt"l."
"I've seen that sefer," replied Menashe. "It's very good. I was thinking of buying it."
"That's not all," added Yoel. "Look inside..."
Menashe opened the sefer. Inside he saw a signed inscription by Rav Eliyahu. "Wow! How did you get an inscribed copy?" he asked.
The Nature Of A Melachah
The Gemara in Shabbos 49b discusses different options regarding what the 39 melachos correspond to. One opinion in the Gemara holds that they correspond to the 39 times that the Torah uses the word “melachah.”
My Rebbe
The start of the school year had already passed. Our youngest son was waiting for community leaders to determine what should be done for the students of his beloved school that had recently fallen apart due to lack of funds. The result turned out to be better than anyone could have ever expected.
The Ever-Amazing Reb Elimelech (Part XVIII)
After Reb Elimelech had restored the glory of his colleague, Reb Shmelkeh of Nikolsburg, he departed home to Lizhensk. He was en route when a voice descended from Heaven and proclaimed, “In the merit of your helping Reb Shmelkeh you have the privilege of blessing whomever you desire during the next 24 hours. And your blessing will be fulfilled.”
Two Types Of Community
A long drama had taken place. Moses had led the people from slavery to the beginning of the road to freedom. The people themselves had witnessed G-d at Mount Sinai, the only time in all history when an entire people became the recipients of revelation. Then came the disappearance of Moses for his long sojourn at the top of the mountain, an absence which led to the Israelites’ greatest collective sin, the making of the Golden Calf. Moses returned to the mountain to plead for forgiveness, which was granted.
Ba’al Teshuvah Parents, Resentful Son
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.
May One Have More than One Wife?
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.
Parshas Ki Sisa: A Day Of Transformation
“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).