Communicated: TefillaChillul Tefila Bifarhesia, as well as halachicly challenged verbiage and dress, are external manifestations of a critical lack of personal yiras shomayim which has lethal consequences.
Posted on: April 25th, 2012
Judaism → Halacha & HashkafaQuestion: I have heard that some halachic authorities disapprove of placing a silver atarah on a talit. Is this true?
Insights From The Plague Of Leprosy
Posted on: April 25th, 2012
Judaism → ParshaAlthough the tzoraas affliction is no more in contemporary times, it teaches lessons that are eternal. Rabbi Avigdor Miller, zt”l, explains that foremost among these lessons is the greatness of Torah leaders and their wisdom. Another lesson: The opportunity the affliction presented to the afflicted for repentance and seld-improvement.
Posted on: April 25th, 2012
Judaism → Rebbetzin's ViewpointI’m learning to walk again. Every step is painful. I go with a walker. There is a security belt wrapped around my waist which the physical therapist watches carefully so that in case I stumble she will be able to catch me. As I make my way, the nurses and other health care personnel smile and congratulate me: “You’re doing wonderful! You’re doing great!”
Posted on: April 25th, 2012
Judaism → Columns → Lessons In EmunahIt was early evening in Jerusalem. I was exhausted, and thankful that the light rail train had arrived. Along with all the other passengers, I jockeyed for a place to stand where I could place some of my bundles on the floor. At the next stop a seat became available, and I was grateful to be able to claim it.
An Interview with Rabbi Moshe Zuriel
Posted on: April 25th, 2012
JudaismRabbi Zuriel: "With the ingathering of the exiles, we need a Sanhedrin to implement various changes since Judaism is a developing matter; it's supposed to be dynamic. He showed me in one of his works twenty items that the Tosafot changed. Today however, he added, we're like the Karaites, we don’t want to change.
Posted on: April 19th, 2012
Judaism → ParshaWhen Rabbi Berel Wein began working for the O.U. kashrus division, he shared an office with Rabbi Alexander Rosenberg a’h, the founder of the kashrus division and its administrator for thirty years.
Posted on: April 19th, 2012
Judaism → ParshaMore than 1500 people died on the Titanic. As a result of the tragedy, out of date conventions and procedures were changed, navigational mistakes were identified and corrected, and the threat of ice was taken seriously—even in the era of modern ships. Walter Lord, in his seminal book on the disaster, A Night to Remember (1955), wrote: “Never again would men fling a ship into an ice field, heedless of warnings, putting their whole trust in a few thousand tons of steel and rivets. From then on Atlantic liners took ice messages seriously, steered clear, or slowed down. Nobody believed in the ‘unsinkable ship.’
Birthday Parties (Part II) (Keritut 2a, Shabbat 25a, Yevamot 2a and Pesachim 32b)
Posted on: April 18th, 2012
Judaism → Halacha & HashkafaIn addition to karet, there is another type of premature death at the hand of God known as “mita bedei shamayim.”
Posted on: April 18th, 2012
Judaism → ParshaThe commentators discuss the meaning and implications of the “strange fire” brought as an offering by Nadav and Avihu. In his discussion of this perplexing passage, Rabbi Avigdor Miller, zt”l, discusses their early demise and observes that their death served a greater purpose (through the sadness that ensued) and that despite receiving a divine death penalty, the Torah regards them as great people.
Posted on: April 18th, 2012
Judaism → Parsha“Tell Bnei Yisrael, “These are the creatures you should eat.” – Vayikrah 11:2 Chovos Halevovos (Sha’ar Avodas Elokim 3) explains that Hashem created man out of two very distinct parts – a nefesh haschili (intellectual soul) and a nefesh habahami (animal soul). Each has its desires and inclinations, and each is competing with the other, [...]
From Structure To Continuity To Spontaneity
Posted on: April 18th, 2012
Judaism → ParshaWhy was spontaneity wrong for Nadav and Avihu, yet right for Moshe Rabbeinu? The answer is that Nadav and Avihu were kohanim, priests. Moses was a navi, a prophet. These are two different forms of religious leadership. They involve different tasks and different sensibilities, indeed different approaches to time itself.
Posted on: April 18th, 2012
Judaism → Halacha & HashkafaQuestion: During Kriat HaTorah, many congregations recite a general prayer for ill people. What is the source of this custom? Also, in many congregations, instead of the gabbai announcing each name, all of the shul’s members are asked to silently say the name of the ill person to themselves while the gabbai remains quiet for several moments. Is this proper?
Reb Elimelech M’Lizhensk (Part VII)
Posted on: April 18th, 2012
Judaism → Columns → Chodesh Tov/Rabbi Hanoch TellerIn 1648 and 1649 Bogdan Chmelnitzky and his hordes of Cossack warriors perpetrated an annihilation campaign against the Jews of Poland and the Ukraine. Almost 100,000 Jews and 300 communities perished at the hands of these murderous mobs. All of the Jews, including infants, were targeted for murder; the general populaces nearly always joined in the attacks, and the torture and degradation of Jews was an integral aspect of the murderer’s procedures.
Posted on: April 18th, 2012
Judaism → Halacha & HashkafaWhen The Service Is Done ‘Once Permitted To Kohanim, Me’ilah Does Not Apply’ (Me’ilah 4b)
Q & A: Harsh Punishments (Part I)
Posted on: April 18th, 2012
Judaism → Ask the RabbiQuestion: I find it very difficult to understand the punishment of death that was meted out to Rabbi Akiba’s students. If he was so great, we can assume that his students were of a superior caliber as well. If so, why did they deserve such a harsh punishment? Zelig Aronson Queens, NY Answer: The Aruch [...]
Posted on: April 18th, 2012
Judaism → Columns → Lessons In EmunahA little more than six months ago, my sister-in-law passed away after battling a serious illness. For more than 30 years she had given symposiums on the Holocaust to youngsters in the Philadelphia area, and we talked about her activities many times on our visits to the U.S. After her passing I was determined to do some kind of volunteer work for Yad Vashem in her memory.
Tales of Rachel’s Tomb, a Strange Fire, the Golden Graft, the True Foundation
Posted on: April 18th, 2012
JudaismFrom rallying Rachel's children to reclaim their identity and holy roots, to purchasing and delivering a Sefer Torah to the empty un-walled streets in front of Rachel's Tomb, to petitioning to have regular scheduled trips of Egged buses eight times daily, Rachel's Children Reclamation Foundation now finds itself in a dilemma: whether to be silent like Rachel or cry like Rachel.
Will Pig Eventually Be Kosher?
Posted on: April 18th, 2012
Judaism → ParshaIn this week’s parshah the Torah teaches us which animals are kosher to eat and which are not. The Torah says that the pig, although it has split hooves, is not kosher since it does not chew its cud. The medrash on this pasuk says that the reason that the pig is called “chazir” is because in the future Hashem will return (lehachzir) the pig to Bnei Yisrael and permit it to be eaten.
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Modern Interpretations of Hatikvah and the Anthem’s Future
