Judaism

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Question: Why do some people have the custom to study Mishnayot for the departed? Also, does Pirkei Avot have five chapters or six? In my Mishnayot, it has five, but in my siddur it has six. Harold Klein

The remedy for external dangers is to reject the foreign cultures. Is the antidote to arrogance to discourage material wealth?

If a person only has one Jewish neighbor, he will appreciate him, but if all the neighbors are Jewish, he might not even know the name of the person living next door.

Sins woven into the fabric of a society have a weight individuals’ sins do not. Communities must set standards, make sure people do not forget the nature of right and wrong, however far from it they may stray.

I wish all of us, parents and teachers, would listen to everything our children ask and say. I dream of our hearing them so well that we can begin to visualize and relate to them as who they can be when they fulfill all their potential.

Why should we rejoice on Shabbos like those who received the Torah?

Not only is a person capable of saying Shema while being tortured and killed; he must do so.

It seemed they didn’t feel like they needed to talk much to me, so I wasn’t put on the spot, and I felt I fulfilled my duty properly.

The Sons Stirred Within Her ‘The Fetus Is a Limb of Its Mother’ (Temurah 30b)

Accordingly, the obligation to give maaser kesafim may be fulfilled not only through money, but also through goods and services.

The gematria of shira, another form of prayer, is also 515, conveying the idea that when singing to Hashem we can repeatedly have the same specific thing in mind.

In the modern era, many nations introduced compulsory education and in the process tried compelling Jews to change their curricula.

It’s possible that this body of water actually does not have its own name and is identified instead by the most prominent city on its banks.

We know that if we don’t talk about it and tell the next generation about it, in a few more years it will be forgotten.

" Nachamu, Nachamu, is not a repetition, but a Song of Act Two--uf new beginnings and of hope.

Israel defies the laws of history because it serves the Author of history. Attached to greatness, it becomes great. Through the Jewish people, G-d is telling humankind that you do not need to be numerous to be great. Nations are judged not by their size but by their contribution to human heritage.

“Man reached the moon. But man to man he has yet to reach.”

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Should a frum Jew take special pride in famous people who were Jewish but not frum and whose achievements have no evident connection to Judaism (e.g., Walter Rathenau, Richard Feynman, Danny Kaye, Bobby Fischer, Milton Friedman, Jascha Heifetz…)?

What is it that makes a person stop and look at a cute little baby and even take the time to smile and say hello?

A few years ago, I realized something that changed the way I look at Tisha B’Av and while I can’t say I look forward to Tisha B’Av I started to focus on what I call “The Tisha B’Av of Today”. I focus on the national tragedies of what is happening right now – and what I can do to prevent them from continuing.

Question: If the fast of Tisha B’Av concludes the mourning period for the destruction of the Temple, why wait until the 15th of Av to rejoice? Sara Gutman

...the Torah is telling us that Og was so big and strong even as a baby that he needed a metal crib to contain him; otherwise he would have broken his bed.

The Contradiction That Yielded 50 Explanations 'He Says to His Maidservant: You Are Free' (Temura 25b)

Originally, the brothers condemned Yosef for being a rodef, but in the end they were haggling over his clothing and extra shoes.

What was so unique at Sinai? What was different then? What do our sages mean when they state that we were “as one person with one heart”?

If you are not attuned to the right frequency, then all of the signals in the world will pass you by.

It is the easiest to only praise, to be "all smiles and hearts," but if you truly care about someone, you do not flatter him. You help him become better.

Question: Since learning Torah on Tisha B’Av is forbidden, why are we allowed to read from the Torah at Shacharit and Mincha of Tisha B’Av? (And is an aveil also forbidden to learn Torah?) Menachem