Judaism

More eternal wisdom from Rebbetzin Jungreis, a”h. This week considering how to become an agent of chesed (compassion) and rachamim (mercy)-continued from last week.

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What happens if a Diaspora Jew refuses to appear before a Jewish court of law or refuses to honor its judgment?

The difficulty with this Rashi is that he lists all three reasons in same breath as if they are equal, and clearly they aren’t.

Question: Why do we cover the challah when we make Kiddush? Why don’t we cover any other foods on the table? Zelig Aronson

To Have Or To Hold ‘Renting Is Not Owning’ (Avodah Zara 15a)

Such a defense can only be raised at the end of the day because it is based on a migo. The migo is that if the borrower were lying, he could have come up with a better defense.

"It won't be easy to buy another one," said Mrs. Lieber. "It was an odd sale item I found in an antique store. It's not right to give away what I got special for them."

Of course, in our time Eretz Yisrael has begun producing fruits in an enormous abundance. That it has done so despite it being known as a barren desert for millennia is nothing short of an open miracle.

After being checked by a doctor, my father needed to undergo some minor surgery. It was clear to his two children in Israel that my father could no longer live independently.

After Israel sings a song of thanksgiving, curiously, Miriam then leads the women of the nation in a second song. Why?

The genius of the biblical narrative of the crossing of the Reed Sea is that it does not resolve the issue of whether it was a miracle or merely natural, one way or another. It gives us both perspectives-you decide

Though rooted back in our servitude in Egypt, to this day, similar attitudes of Jewish self-deception often create the foundations of Jewish self-rejection and self-hate, which become the root of animosity toward anyone who does not join this self-imposed denial of the Jewish cause.

In the midst of his writing, he chanced to look down at the dance floor. He noticed that from afar, it seemed like he was witnessing poetry in motion.

Spinoza, who left all Jewishness correctly observed, circumcision is the secret to the miracle of Jewish survival. What those Jews who oppose circumcision should never forget is that the attempt to outlaw this rite may not just make Jewish life impossible, but would probably end all Jewish existence

The religious state of nature does not enable the building of a religious society. Since human beings are social creatures, it follows that the state of nature does not enable human fulfillment.   We therefore need a religious social contract.  Cue Sinai; enter, the Torah.

They knew that if they performed acts of kindness with each other G-d would perform kindness with them.

We must struggle to understand, says the Rambam, the greatness and wisdom in the words of Chazal.

Someone dialed the police. It was too late, though. The thief had already fled the hall and disappeared into the street.

Even if the Egyptians prided themselves on ingenuity and advancements, they had to know they were most likely wrong when it came to accurately knowing when midnight was.

As we have seen, a debtor is not believed if he says he repaid the loan prior to the maturity date.

One cannot expect the defendant to bring negative proof – that is, proof he does not owe what he denies, because how do you prove what does not exist?

Don’t Tread On Me ‘If One Consulted A Sage, He May Not Consult Another’ (Avodah Zarah 7a)

For all the good we hopefully do in the world, we often come up lacking; our prayers are distracted, we're a bit short with the beggar, we sometimes slip with our tongues.

We know that the measure of goodness is greater than that of punishment.

Question: In the course of my travels, I have discovered that some chazzanim say “Ga’al Yisrael” right before Shemoneh Esreh aloud while others say it with their voices fading. Is one practice correct and the other incorrect? M. Goldman

What growth can we achieve through the mitzvah of lighting special candles for Shabbos? What lesson does Hashem want us to learn from this mitzvah?

More eternal wisdom from Rebbetzin Jungreis, a”h. This week considering how to become an agent of chesed (compassion) and rachamim (mercy).

Pharaoh's stubbornness dooms Egypt. Had he let the Jews go at the first request, Egypt would have been spared from all the pain, death and destruction--the blame is his, neither Israel's nor G-d's

Throughout the years of taking care of such a special needs child I believe that he understands all that is going on, he just doesn’t have the ability to express himself. And I was determined to make him as happy as I could.