We Never Walk Alone
Named for my father’s brother who had been taken away by the Nazi’s, I feel as if I am finally able to give my father a small nechama for all the pain he had suffered.
Miracle Baby
Every heart was filled with gratitude to the Almighty for granting this special soul a chance to live.
Seeking A Filter
I am desperately searching for a filter that purifies the twisted Lishon haRah we use to speak of God: the positive attributes in which we unhesitatingly express our belief.
Is It Proper…? Is it proper for an ordinary Jew (as opposed to Avraham...
Is it proper for an ordinary Jew (as opposed to Avraham Avinu, Moshe Rabbeinu, or R’ Levi Yitzchok of Berditchiv) to challenge G-d?
Make Resolutions, Not Wishes
The secret to change is to stop wishing and to start making real resolutions
Searching For Roots In Berdichev
Abe and I were a bit surprised that Eliyahu Yeshaya would spend over a $1,000 on a half-week trip to the Ukraine. We didn’t know that he had his own itinerary in mind.
Betwixt & Between
Chag Sameach-Happy Yom Ha'atzmaut and Shabbat Shalom
Achdut: The Key To Jewish Survival
There is no question that unity and respect amongst Jews are more vital than the chumrahs that separate one Jew from the next.
Avoiding The Evil Eye
His father told him: You decide which yeshiva you want to go to. Don’t tell me your decision. When the day comes to leave to yeshiva, take your suitcase, go to the yeshiva, and I don’t want to know where you are going.
Q & A: Incongruous And Unbecoming (Part IV)
Question: Lately I've seen some young men who, though they wear a yarmulke, have ponytails or long unruly hair. I've even seen some ear piercings. Somehow I find this behavior to be incongruous. My real problem is that my own nephew and a few of his friends wear their hair in this manner. Even though his parents look upon it as a passing fad, I am at a loss to understand such behavior. Luckily, whether right or wrong, I've held my tongue. I wonder what the proper positive action to take is in this matter.
No Name Please
A Mission For The Nine Days
The Chovos HaLevovos gives us a chilling deterrent from speaking lashon hara. He warns us that if we speak lashon hara about someone, Hashem will take away some of our merits and give them to the person we spoke badly about.
Should We Use The Name Avshalom?
...even though Avshalom the person might have been a wicked fellow, since his name has a positive meaning (father of peace, or my father is peace or something along those lines), it is still appropriate to use this name in naming our children.
Should Your Spouse Be Like You?
For some reason, people seem to strongly believe that being alike improves communication. But is that really so?
Daf Yomi
What You Pray For
‘… Acts As Befitting Your People’
(Sanhedrin 85a)
Daf Yomi
An Idolatrous Eruv
‘Wood From An Asheirah Tree’
(Avodah Zarah 49b)
Encounters In The Second-Hand Store
Berta had no inkling about the journey she and Michael were going to take... For a year following the wedding, Berta’s mother kept bringing non-kosher food into their apartment; she had difficulty accepting the young couple’s choice to learn more about Judaism.
TORAH SHORTS: Parshat Toldot: Famine-Proof
Unbelief starves the soul; faith finds food in famine. -Richard Cecil
Parshat R’eh – Taking Responsibility
The essence of Ahavat Yisrael is the willingness to take responsibility for Israel’s future. It is being prepared to sacrifice everything for the defense of the Jewish people and liberation of the homeland.
Q & A: Steps Back At Amidah’s Conclusion
Question: I read with much interest your Q & A columns, especially those that relate to tefillah. I have a related question: In shul I’ve noticed that at the conclusion of the Shemoneh Esrei, some people take three steps backward but then they do not take the three steps forward as required. Is this an actual sanctioned practice?
Zelig Aronson
Via E-mail
Daf Yomi
A Gentile’s ‘Kashrus Certificate’
‘We Do Not Give Innards to a Gentile’
(Chullin 33a)
The Book Of The Covenant
What is unique about the covenant in Judaism is, first, that one of the parties is G-d Himself. This would have been unintelligible to Israel’s neighbors, and remains extraordinary even today.
A Jewish Walk Of Fame
If we had a Walk of Fame for our nation, there is no doubt that Avraham Avinu would be the first star on it
Achdus
I take pride in being a disciple of the Rebbe. I love everything about Chabad Lubavitch and the wellsprings of chassidus.
Ki Tisa: Crisis Of The Golden Calf
A mistake that nearly had catastrophic results for the entire people of Israel ultimately revealed Moshe's true greatness as a national leader.
A Letter From The Rebbe
The Three Days of Preparation and the Festival of the Giving of our Torah indeed come once a year, but there is a small-scale version of this preparation and of Matan Torah every day.
The Fight Of Our Lives
The routing of Antiochus’ mighty army was accomplished by strong, brave Jewish fighters possessing minimal munitions but one most powerful weapon: Heavenly assistance.
Guard Me So I Don’t Sink Into Darkness
Hashem does not forgive anyone who ever shed a drop of Jewish blood. There is no question that justice will be served by Hashem Himself, as the Yalkut Shimoni states, upon anyone who participated in any way in this massacre.
Four Dimensions Of The Journey
Abraham gave birth to a new nation whose greatness consisted precisely in the ability to live by that voice and create something new in the history of mankind. “Go for yourself ” – believe in what you can become.