Judaism

In Judaism, the stories are not engraved in stone on memorials…. They are told at home, around the table, from parents to children as the gift of the past to the future.

Of course, he could have just told them. But he wanted them to have the written note that they could reread many times.

Judaism is about belonging to a people who descend from and still identify with our avot and imahot.

Rabbi Pappenheim notes that in many instances natan and sam can be interchangeable, because they basically refer to putting something somewhere.

What is often overlooked, however, is that not only does bread take priority over wine, but cake (mezonot) takes priority over wine as well.

The Nature of nature

What were the necessary steps for Israel to develop a national consciousness ahead of leaving Egypt?

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Not only is it improper to reject a shidduch on that basis, it is foolish, and not just because marrying outside one’s ethnic heritage broadens the gene pool.

You, Zaidy, were always spoken about in my home at all times to my children, who didn’t really get a chance to know or meet you as I did. You would have loved them all.

In many situations a court order of bankruptcy would exempt the debtor from his debt also according to halacha.

Ignorance can be bliss

The Gender Factor ‘…Where There Is Loss Of Work…[Only] Three Are Called To The Torah’ (Megillah 22b)

Like many good Brits, come what may, Anne's father would buy a weekly ticket in the football pools. He always used the same numbers; the birthdays of his two children.

The first stage was a gift, an illusion; the third is the product born of the effort and time you invested.

On 10 Shevat in 1951, the Rebbe officially accepted the mantle of leadership, and delivered a maamor that began with the same posuk, expounding upon his father-in-law’s discourse.

Dear Rabbi Klass, It has been a while now that a number of countries, where Jews reside, have outlawed Shechita – Jewish ritual slaughter. Especially disturbing is what is happening now in Greece and Belgium, since they portray Shechita as being cruel. What are we as Jews to do? Is there any recourse for us in this matter so fundamental to our people? M. Goldblum Via e-mail

As I studied this story and related ones in the Torah, it occurred to me that Moses, at times, seems to have lost his faith in the Jewish people.

The ten plagues were part of a deliberate process to educate not only Egypt and Israel but also humanity.

Do we grant ourselves time "to pause, look around, and consider" in order not to miss the announcement that redemption is coming, so that we can adjust the direction in which we are headed accordingly?

The comfort zone takes our greatest aspirations and turns them into excuses for not bothering to aspire. -Peter McWilliams

All things are equal, we should certainly pick for our children purely Jewish names. Even the surnames should be distinctly Jewish.

Apparently, it was not only Moshe but the entire tribe of Levi who were, astoundingly, not subject to Pharaoh’s persecution. Why was that?

When someone makes an unsubstantiated argument, it is impossible to counter it with a logical explanation. That would imply that the two opinions are of equal value.

Edmund Burke: “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.”

Our true salvation and our joy doesn’t come from the downfall of the wicked.

Freedom in the deepest sense, the freedom to do the right and the good, is not a given. We acquire it, or lose it, gradually.

Instead of becoming dejected because we think we have fallen from our previous spiritual level, we can now be encouraged by knowing that, in fact, just the opposite has occurred.

It is not widely known that the practice of securing and publishing haskama letters originated with the Catholic Church.

One of our greatest needs is for validation. No one likes feeling like he or she is crazy or out of control.