If Tefillin Are Discovered To Be Pasul – Who Is Responsible?
If the parshiyos are pasul, that should be the sofer's problem! Mr. Rosenblum exclaimed. He wrote them. Please let me speak with him.
Avot 1:13 – Mastery Orientation
When you work towards a learning goal, are you motivated for better grades, looking smarter, outperforming others?
Daf Yomi
In Short – Just One Day!
“I Am Hereby A Nazir”
(Nazir 5a,7a-8a)
There’s Blood on Your Doorpost
Does Hashem need to "look" in order to know if there is blood on the doorpost?
What We Gain From Pain
Easy come, easy go. Only the Torah that we make sacrifices to learn remains with us years later.
Parshat Bo: The Bread of Freedom
The more we define ourselves as the actors rather than as the characters we play, the more our characters can actually succeed at fulfilling their unique roles in the story HaShem placed us in.
Q & A: Of Windows, Places, And Weather (Part I)
Question:. Every winter, we run into the same problem: those of us who sit closest to the windows have to suffer the windows being open because those sitting away from the windows... claim they are too hot from the heat of the heating system. Do they have the right to impose their comfort at the expense of our health?
Anonymous
Via email
Come!
When we look around at the trees and flowers in our land, we should not take what we see for granted. Shevat is not only a month of blossoming and renewed growth, but the realization of a dream that persisted throughout the generations.
Spiritual Ownership
Sheep and cattle want to eat; they want to spend time outside and with their young. But can it really be said that they wish to worship G-d?
Essence Of Chametz
On a chemical level, chametz is a conundrum. The existence of fermentation is not sufficient to define chametz.
TORAH SHORTS: Parshat Bo: Cultivating Calmness
Under all speech that is good for anything there lies a silence that is better. Silence is deep as Eternity; speech is shallow as Time. -Thomas Carlyle
The Finger Of G-d
With the plague of lice, the Egyptian magicians admitted that it was the finger of G-d they were seeing.
The Spiritual Child
Jews became famous throughout the ages for putting education first. Where others built castles and palaces, Jews built schools and houses of study.
Nissan – The Jewish New Year
G-d does not enjoy meting out punishment, neither does He initiate it. Punishment is the automatic outcome of derelict human behavior.
From Last To First: The Story Of The Nesiim (Part I)
Highly successful people do not immediately look at their phones upon waking. Instead of allowing external stimuli to guide their waking thoughts, they replace it with mindful, guided, and goal-oriented thinking, generating proactive momentum to their morning.
The Value Of A Hallmark Card
Of course, the good parent praises and rewards the child for a job well done. But, what about the math teacher who turned your child around?
Beware, Fatted Cow
In the end, justice will be served and all the nations who oppressed Israel will be punished, but Israel will at last be redeemed.
What Are The Prayers And Customs One Should Observe On A Parent’s Yahrzeit?
There is a mistaken belief that one should cease reciting Kaddish on the yahrzeit of a parent once fifty years have passed since their death.
Parshas Bo: Please Stand Up
While the term amidah is teleologically neutral and simply relays the notion of standing in place, the term nitzav implies standing for a specific purpose.
When visiting a Shiva house is it appropriate to console the mourners by trying...
Most simply don’t have much to say to aveilim and that’s fine; it’s still a great mitzvah to visit with aveilim even for a short time.
He Uncovers The Hidden
If I had used my electric oven the previous week, after the original test, that leak behind it could have blown up the house and caused me serious injury.
Can The Same IOU Be Used Twice?
Since the signature of witnesses on a loan document becomes void upon repayment, no inherent testimony remains about the second loan, whereas when the borrower resubmits an IOU to the lender, he obligates himself again, as if signing anew.
Daf Yomi
Que Sera, Sera?
‘He Daubed Him With Mud’
(Nedarim 89b-90a)
Avot 1:12 – Love Peace
The use of Aharon as a model is illustrative. Pirkei Avot is filled with advice from many Talmudic sages, but most don’t invoke a Biblical precedent to prove their point.
Q & A: Should An Unmarried Man Be Barred From Leading Services? (Part II)
Question: A number of years back, when I was still unmarried, I had yahrzeit, but in the shul where I davened they wouldn’t let me serve as shaliach tzibbur as they had a rule that no one unmarried was allowed to daven from the amud. Obviously, I could still say Kaddish, but I wanted to lead the services for the sake of the neshama. My question is: Did they have the right to deny me what I felt was my yahrzeit obligation to my departed parent?
Mark Halberstam Esq.
Brooklyn, N.Y.
Via email
The Quality Of Life
Axel Pflueger then turned to the head of the committee, acknowledged to be one of the most celebrated medical ethicists in the world, and inquired, What precisely are the criteria to determine one’s quality of life?
A Rabbi, A Disability, An Inspiration
When G-d takes something from the body, he gives something else in its place. True, I am physically disabled, but I learn quickly and my memory is very good.
The Pain, The Effort, And The Process
People are often disillusioned by their failures and the strength of their yetzer hara. Instead, we should appreciate how the challenges we overcome add to the value of our successes.