Covenant and Conversation: Parshat Vayigash: Reframing
If we change the way we think, we will change the way we feel.
United As One
We cannot achieve true unity in the physical world which is built upon division and fragmentation.
In Your Childrens’ Footsteps
We know that one of the reasons that the brothers fanned out through ten gates was to look for Yosef (Rashi 42:13). So why were they terrified when they found him?
Filling The Gaps
There’s no doubt about it. There’s something missing in the hearts and souls of so many today and they can’t seem to satiate it.
Do You Have A Father?
We live in a time when to declare ourselves rooted in the past is countercultural, even difficult for people to understand.
Is It Proper For A Person With A Bad Cold (Or Virus) To Daven...
In the current environment, it is prudent and politically correct to stay away from shul when one is ill.
The Sounds Of Chanukah Throughout The Year
When each holiday ends and the routine and mundane days come about, we must take the magic moments and energies from the holiday onwards.
Missing The Boat?
I don’t know what happened, but at some point a number of the people started walking away from the lobby. No one said anything to us. What did they know that we didn’t?
Receiving The Wrong Books – Who’s Responsible?
I may have to sell them as 'used in new condition.' I'll accept the books back, but expect you to cover the depreciation due to the stickers.
Ari Fuld on the Real Miracle of Chanukah
Ari Fuld uncovers and explores the real miracle and lessons of Chanukah.
Daf Yomi
“Older” By A Month
‘… I Shall Not Taste Wine...Until The Beginning Of Adar’
(Nedarim 63a, Mishna)
Avot 1:7
The overall message of this mishna seems to be one of social caution. If we want to learn and maintain good behavior, we need to stay away from any people that can inhibit that growth.
The Chanukah Menorah And Renewal Of The Spirit
When we believe that we can always change for the better, the light of Hashem can shine upon us, no matter how old we are.
Worse Than Extermination
Luring another to sin is worse than killing them because killing only removes the victim from this world, while sin removes one from the next world as well.
Dignity To Survive
On every Tisha B’Av, when it is forbidden to learn Torah, Reb Shlomo Zalman would read Dignity to Survive in its original Hebrew.
Kiel, Germany: When Light Dispels Darkness
The city of Kiel is full of pictures of the menorah and everyone here is excited about its return We have been interviewed by the New York Times, the Guardian, and other media outlets, and now feel that this story is much bigger than us.
Jewish Unity In Chanukah And Hakhel
It is these Chanukah candles that we light all over the world that will usher in the light of Moshiach and the great Hakhel of all “Jewish candles” – all Jewish men, women and children throughout the world in the great geulah coming speedily in our very own days.
Q & A: Of Gelt And Dreidels
Question: Non-Jews distribute gifts at Christmas to their friends and family. What is the halacha about and reasoning for Jews to distribute gifts at Chanukah to friends and family? Growing up, we used to get Chanukah gelt rather than gifts from my parents.
Larry Marks
Via E-Mail
Parshat Mikeitz – Mashiach ben Yosef
Israel's collective soul can only fully manifest itself through an earthly nation that reveals the Divine Ideal in all spheres of national existence.
Yosef And The Battle For True Beauty
As I sat there thinking, I finally realized the lesson I was supposed to learn. Beauty is not about the physical; it’s about how we live our lives, how we choose to see the world.
What Is The Halachic Status Of A Civil Marriage?
Rav Moshe Feinstein argues that the fact that a couple chose to forgo a Jewish ceremony demonstrates that they have no desire to be married according to Jewish law.
Why Is This Happening To Me?
It is often difficult and painful for us to admit fault, to take responsibility for our failures, to see ourselves or our prior behaviors as guilty.
To Wait Without Despair
To understand the power of this anti-climax, we must remember that only since the invention of printing and the availability of books have we been able to tell what happens next merely by turning a page.
Self-Defense
It could be understood that in the earlier years it was not necessary to tout the miracle of Chanukah within the home. Steeped in Jewish law and tradition, the members of the household were imbued with Torah and Yiras Shamayim.
TORAH SHORTS: Parshat Miketz: Giving the Benefit of the Love
Love is the affinity that links and draws together the elements of the world... Love, in fact, is the agent of universal synthesis. -Pierre Teilhard de Chardin
A Rock With Seven Eyes Upon It
When encountering difficult texts in Scripture, it is usually productive to consult Rashi, and Rashi doesn’t disappoint in the present case.
New Platform Allows Users To Rate Their Beit Din Experience
The idea is to slowly create an operating standard: approved batei din are ones which are transparent, which don’t allow for shady deals, and which recognize abusive behaviors when they present themselves.
The Chanukah Spirit
The obvious question is why didn’t the Sages immediately declare the festival the very same year that the miracles occurred?
The Song Of The Land
It is clear that Yaakov knew that Yosef was alive and in Egypt. The only question that remains is – did he know that the brothers had sold Yosef into slavery?