Appreciating OUR Creator
As part of the world Hashem constantly recreates, our existence also hinges on Hashem’s continuous constant renewal.
The Special Quality Of Summer
Summer is the ideal time to catch up on spiritual matters that were overlooked throughout the year.
Stiff-Necked
When a person maintains clarity of mind and the Torah is the basis of his rationale, the Evil Inclination will not be able to mislead him to go against the will of Hashem...
Learning The Proper Lesson
The Maharal says that Hashem deliberately waited until after Miriam was punished for speaking lashon hara so that the spies would be given an opportunity to take to heart what befell that tzadeket and to draw the proper conclusions for their own conduct.
TORAH SHORTS: Parshat Korach: The Shortcut Fallacy
The heights by great men reached and kept / Were not obtained by sudden flight,
But they, while their companions slept / Were toiling upward in the night.
-Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Two Kinds Of Fear
G-d wanted the Israelites to create a model society where human beings were not treated as slaves, where rulers were not worshipped as demigods, where human dignity was respected…
Spy Woes
Had Moshe been allowed to enter Eretz Yisrael, he would have immediately built the Temple. If that would have happened, G-d would not have been able to vent his anger by destroying the Temple that Moshe built and He would instead have destroyed the Jews.
Revitalizing Our Prayers – Part Twelve
In general, the smarter way to pray, is in anticipation, before we have a problem.
Pinchas: A Man Of Shalom And Kehuna (Part II)
What exactly makes something beautiful? When you watch the sun set along the beach, for example, the sight is undeniably beautiful. What, though, makes this scene so beautiful?
Embracing Other People – And G-d
When we are alone, when we have a chance at peace and quiet, we can take in the world, organize it, organize our minds, experience the lovely and reassuring peace of being in control. But when someone else enters the scene, all of that comes to an end.
Is it appropriate to discuss politics at the Shabbos table?
It depends what type of politics is being discussed. If it is politics that has a direct effect on Jewish interests and has therefore Torah issues involved, then as the Chofetz Chaim was reported to say Hashem also has His politics.
Household Appliances And Avsha Milta
Most Ashkenazic authorities rule leniently in case of need. This is especially true with today’s high-quality household appliances that make very little noise and often cannot even be heard in an adjacent room.
My Son’s Wedding
I now opened my eyes that were wet with tears of the past, the present, and the future and saw how beautiful Hashem's world is and how perfect the cycles of life are. How little of the circle we see at a time.
Bread And Slander
As a result of eating from this tree of disparate parts, Adam and Chava themselves became split into disparate parts, the physical and the spiritual, and were no longer the integral unit that Hashem had intended.
Walking Into A Revolution
My husband, Chaim, felt it was his obligation to create a Kiddush Hashem at every moment in his life. He felt strongly about dressing as a chareidi Jew wherever he went.
SHOULD YOU CARE ABOUT WHAT OTHERS THINK OF YOU?
Are you listening?
The Holiness of Words
The more man did not see himself as created in the image of God, the more he devaluated himself and the more his use of language deteriorated as well. Thus, over many years, language has declined, one stage after another, suffering the loss of its grandeur
Leave The Money In The Box
But you lent me the money, and, in the end, it was never returned to you, insisted Levi. I don't want you to be out the money.
But it's also not fair to make you pay double, replied Menachem. I took the risk, so it's my loss.
Daf Yomi
Presumption Of Life?
‘The Husband Was Elderly or Ailing...’
(Gittin 28a)
The Source Of Morality
Without denying the importance of tradition in determining ethical obligations and norms, Pirkei Avot in chapter 2 seems to offer a complimentary method.
Living In Hashem’s World
When we donate our money, time or effort to Hashem, we naturally assume that we are giving Him something that is our own. In truth, we are merely giving Him what is (already) His.
Please Don’t Go – Parshat Behaalotcha
Moshe begs Yitro to not leave Am Yisrael.
Q & A: May One Take Medications On The Sabbath?
Question: My physician prescribed certain medication in the form of pills that I am to take daily, twice a day. The question is, what am I to do as regards the Sabbath – may I take the pills or must I skip taking them? There is also a question, since I am diabetic, that skipping a day’s dosage might prove harmful. Should I take them on the Sabbath or not?
Name withheld on request
Via email
I Don’t Get It!
I often sit at the opening of the Old City of Jerusalem witnessing the prophecies of the prophet Zecharya and others come to fruition, and I wonder why others don’t see what I see.
The Advantage Of Camp
Everything that happens in camp is fun, including the learning. Learning in camp is full of fun and excitement, part of a large program.
Forgive Me
The Zera Shimshon elaborates that Aharon and Miriam reckoned that Moshe Rabbeinu was deemed worthy of ascending to Heaven because of the collective merit of all of the Jewish People – it was not necessarily because of his own personal merit.
The Rationalist Spies – Parshat Shelach
The spies that led Israel to national catastrophe mistakenly thought that the value of preserving life overrides the commandment to free Eretz Yisrael.
Revitalizing Our Prayers – Part Eleven
We cap off this request by pleading that Hashem should do it lema’an Sh’mecha, for the sake of Your Name. This refers to His Name of Shalom, Peace. Please Hashem, for the sake of Peace, remove the friction between me and others.
COVENANT & CONVERSATION: Parshat Shelach Lecha: Two Kinds of Fear
The spies feared success, not failure. It was the mistake of deeply religious men. But it was a mistake.