Judaism

Rabbi Fohrman delves deeper into the Priestly Blessing and its relevant lessons

Ultimately the Torah is a book that reflects a system of ethics that comes from God.

The Hebrew word for coincidence is mikreh, which comes from “karah min Hashem – it happened from G-d.”

If the survival of Judaism is dependent on the next generation, there is no doubt that the most important person in the synagogue is the Candy Man.

To gain power or distract the population from their suffering, a monarch would look for a place to put the blame.

Question: I recently returned from a trip abroad and wanted to say HaGomel. When I mentioned this to the officers of my synagogue, however, they told me – as per the instructions of the synagogue’s rabbi – that I would have to wait until Shabbos to do so. I was not given any reason for this and did not wish to display my ignorance, so I quietly acquiesced. Can you please explain why I had to wait? Name Withheld (Via E-Mail)

Shlomo called Rabbi Dayan. "I lent someone money, and he now denies the loan," he began. "If the opportunity presents itself, am I allowed to grab money from him?"

The Shofar On Shabbos ‘Rosh Hashanah That Fell on Shabbos’ (Rosh Hashanah 29b)

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The question still remains on how to reconcile all of the different drashos that are derived from this pasuk.

The multitudes among them experienced a desire for meat and wept.

Our son-in-law e-mailed tickets for us to print out and bring along to allow us admittance. Simple enough.

Question: A number of synagogues feature bar mitzvah celebrations for elderly Jews. Is this proper?

One who loves can buy a factory-made knick-knack for his partner, but a personal hand-made gift is infinitely more precious.

Life is what you make of it. And if our lives are defined by Torah, then these weeks of Sefira are all about making the most of it.

The 49 days between Passover and Shavou'ot are dedicated to enhancing one's behavior, following in the footsteps of the Jews, who forged/enhanced their own national character during the 40 years in the desert.

The Shulchan Aruch notes that a priest who is in mourning for one of the seven close relatives does not bless the people during the Shiva period.

Generally there is an issur de’oraisa to erase Hashem’s name, but here the Torah explicitly permits it.

Question: I recently returned from a trip abroad and wanted to say HaGomel. When I mentioned this to the officers of my synagogue, however, they told me – as per the instructions of the synagogue’s rabbi – that I would have to wait until Shabbos to do so. I was not given any reason for this and did not wish to display my ignorance, so I quietly acquiesced. Can you please explain why I had to wait? Name Withheld (Via E-Mail)

"I have no doubt you should pay the full value of the repair," replied Zvi, "but I'm willing to ask Rabbi Dayan how much you owe."

Sanctified For Now And Thereafter ‘In Front of the Sun or Behind It?’ (Rosh Hashana 23b)

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Why can’t a man just admit it is wrong to steal but he wants to do it anyway?

Is parsha Naso teaching us how we should treat our children?

From this decree on, the two days of Rosh Hashanah, unlike the two days of Pesach, Shavuot and Sukkot, were no longer celebrated out of doubt but out of certainty.

Hashem understood their complaint and therefore selected the ritual mitzvah of sukkah to test them.

“Daddy,” I exclaimed, “Is this how you daven?” Daddy’s response was a hearty laugh. I felt so proud of myself.

May we feel the pain of what is happening in Israel not merely as members of the Jewish nation but as members of our own family.

Saying “thank you” to people to whom we are indebted is humbling – especially if we’ve been raised in a culture of entitlement.

The girl who had remarkably survived the accident had previously not led a religious lifestyle - which unsurprisingly changed after this event.