The Scorpion & The Setting Of The Son
Why did Yaakov act strangely by crisscrossing his hands when he could have simply switched Ephraim and Menashe’s positions?
The Five-Star Hotel Called Life
Is there any way to measure the value of life? Is it worth a million dollars? Ten million? A hundred billion? Is it even possible to put a value on our existence?
Taillight Ticket
Thus, if the ticket was issued to the owner, the driver has no obligation to reimburse him.
Passing The Torch
I explained to him that Hashem does not give a person something to deal with that they cannot handle.
Winning Ticket #675349
I teach our students that nothing happens by chance and certainly that includes a raffle drawing. Hashem is running the world and everything that happens in it.
Lesser Of Two Evils
Why do we allow a Jew to shecht on Shabbos when there are other ways of providing the ill person with meat?
The Phantom & The Man
We meet two different Abrahams in the Torah text and the Midrash. The spiritual giant, hero, and Tzaddik of the Midrash is almost a phantom in the written text. Which is real?
Redeeming Relevance: Parshat Lech Lecha: Avoiding Too Much Virtue
While we read of tests of Avraham, it is clear that Sarah endured tests of her own. According to Ramban, she failed her test in her treatment of Hagar
Tefillah: A Meeting with Hashem – A Personal Request
B’chol dirachecha da’eihu, vehu yiyasher orchosecha – In all your ways know Him and He will smooth your paths
Hashem Hates Thievery
Rashi is troubled that thievery is being treated as the pivotal point of the world’s existence. There are many sins that are worse.
‘Can I Trust Him?’
An engrossing tale of a complex shidduch issue-A wonderful shidduch except for one thing: The wonderful young man is not that observant. What should she do?
Daf Yomi
Ensnarement and Atonement
‘The Only Proper Guarding Of Coins Is In The Ground’
(Bava Metzia 42a)
Q & A: Replacing A Monument (Part II)
Question: Is there anything in Jewish law that prohibits replacing an old, existing matzeivah (tombstone) with a new, better one? I would greatly appreciate your response to this question.
A Reader
Tucson, AZ
Redeeming Relevance: Parshat Noach: Of Facts and Narratives: Postmodernism and the Ohr HaChaim
The Torah itself presents parallel narratives of the same stories, thereby showing that the same events can truthfully be constructed in more than one way.
Who Stole?
The two were the same height and dressed similarly, so Shlomie could not discern who had taken the money.
A Stolen Teivah?
As long as an individual is still alive and his possessions are still intact, they belong to him – and one may not steal them.
Are Finders Keepers?
The Torah requires us to return lost property to its owner. It follows that if the lost property has no owner, there is no duty to return it and the finder may keep it.
A Supreme Act Of Love Revisited
What happened to Robert Najberg’s mother? I have no clue; I can’t find any information.
Traveling With Grace
Edy turned around and saw that her sister was trapped underneath the trolley that had rolled on top of her.
The Still Voice (Kol)
The mention of kol is referenced in dozens of places in the Torah, and each time it appears, one is filled with wonder and amazement in its powerful and profound implication and meaning.
Jewish Practice In The U.S. Military (VI)
The Air Force’s defense was that the Constitution only protected a genuine religious law; not a personal preference. Wearing a yarmulke, they argued, was not the law.
Parshat Bereishit
While turning points do not often announce themselves with a clarion call, there are, nonetheless, moments in our lives when the potential for major change is evident.
Rabbi Aba Wagensberg on Parsha Bereishis
Parshas Bereishis is not only the first but arguably the most difficult parsha in the entire Torah. Let's begin...
How Deep Is Our Faith?
Our history demonstrates that there is no difficulty, no obstacle, we cannot overcome when we become one with our G-d. We need only allow the light of Hashem to lead us.
Saper Vedere
"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?
The Beginning Of Time
Before there was physicality, there was nothing to measure, so there was no system to measure height.
Benevolent Justice
That would be cheating the rightful party and an injustice. Some authorities write that doing so would be considered a taus b'dvar mishna, a mistrial, and the compromise is null and void.
Daf Yomi
The Difficult Choice
‘His Father’s Lost Object And His Rebbe’s Lost Object…’
(Bava Metzia 33a)