Judaism

He who knows he has enough is rich. -Lao-Tzu

If I had Jacob's dream, I would not have been able to go back to sleep, and, I'd like to believe that I would have responded to the historic promises rather than make a conditional promise emphasizing bread and clothes. I would expect a "Thank You," from Jacob, instead of falling asleep and then playing "Let's Make A Deal,"

Parshas Naso is notable for its length, and its length is notable for its redundancy. The Torah minces no words, and therefore we understand that the repetition in the description of the Mishkan's inaugural service is purposeful and laden with meaning. Rabbi Avigdor Miller, zt”l, explains that this is a reflection on the importance and centrality of the Mishkan.

The driver managed to unload the elevator, but it wouldn’t budge afterwards. A serviceman came and said, "The elevator was overloaded. The brakes have to be replaced."

The Shmuz is a Torah lecture that offers a worldview on major life issues ranging from working on our middos to learning to be a better spouse, from understanding the meaning of our davening to what our purpose is in this world.

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Those who cannot find meaning in their countries of exile find it in this ancient city.

Rashi tells us that because of this mistake, the Jewish people lost out on a great lesson.

The leader can never close the gap between himself and the group. If he does, he is no longer what he must be. He must walk a tightrope between the consent he must win and the control he must exert. -Vince Lombardi

Holy Tears!

"Excuse me for asking," said Yehuda. "But is that okay? It sounds a little like ribbis to me."

Question: The Kitzur Shulchan Aruch states that a person should put on his right shoe first but tie his left shoe first. Why? Y. Malinsky

When the Jewish people crossed the Red Sea, successfully escaping the clutches of the Egyptians, Moses gathered the Israelites together and they sang the famous “Az Yashir.” Miriam, Moses’s sister, also assembled the women as they danced with tambourines and sang “shiru lahashem ki gao gaa sus vrochbo rama bayam” – let us sing to Hashem for he is great, horse and chariot he drowned in the sea.”

Now is not the time to be talking disparagingly about Torah leaders, roshei yeshiva, and rabbanim.

According to Maimonides there is not one model of the virtuous life, but two. He calls them, respectively, the way of the saint (chassid) and the sage (chacham).

The Beer Chaim says that one who gives charity has the power to even resurrect the dead.

The Jewish national period of mourning.

Be smart, go 'DUMB'

The truth is that a mitzvah may not be the result of belief but rather the means to come to believe.

What can the dynamics between Yitzḥak and Yishmael in Parshat Vayeira teach us about Israel’s ideal relationship with the Muslim world?

"Saper vedere," - knowing how to see - informs our lives. Have we changed with the opportunities brought by the holidays> Have we kept our new lenses?

Eisav was born with great spiritual potential but he made a number of wrong choices.

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The Gemara in Kiddushin 29a derives from a pasuk in this week’s parshah that women are exempt from performing a bris milah on their sons. The pasuk says: “ka’asher tzivah oso Elokim” (Bereishis 21:4). The Gemara takes from the word “oso” (him) that women are exempt. The Rishonim there are disturbed by the following question: why is it necessary for this pasuk to be written in the Torah when it is a mitzvas assei she’hazman gramma (time-sensitive mitzvah), which women are exempt from performing?

In Parshas Pinchas the Torah introduces the Mussaf for Shavuos by describing it as Yom HaBikurim when we bring the new offering.

The Meshech Chochmah states that had Israel not sinned with the golden calf, God would not have punished Aharon’s sons so severely.

Is it proper, l’chatchilah, for a young married couple to apply for government welfare programs like food stamps and section 8?

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QUESTION: Is decorating the sukka part of the mitzva, or does the mitzva only require the sukka itself?Moshe JakobowitzBrooklyn, NY