Shabbos Mevorchim Elul
"Who said one must pray with a whole heart? Perhaps it's preferable to pray with a broken heart."
Achdus
I take pride in being a disciple of the Rebbe. I love everything about Chabad Lubavitch and the wellsprings of chassidus.
Parshat Eikev – Rosh Chodesh Elul
We need to have the endurance Napoleon demanded from his troops.
Moshe’s Three Prayers
At the end of his exhausting second 40 day effort, again without food or water, Moshe was rewarded with a command to hew new tablets, as Hashem accepted his petition and forgave them.
Who Gave You The Idea?
The farmer understands he didn’t bring the rain. It wasn’t his acumen that stopped the pestilence.
Giving Up Your Money
The second parshah of Shema is referring to keeping the rest of the mitzvos, and there the Torah does not require that one spend all of his money in order to perform the mitzvos.
Aleph Beta: Eikev: Why Does The Nation of Israel Merit The Land?
Is it because of merit or the promise to our ancestors that B'nai Israel gets to enter Israel?
Redeeming Relevance: Parshat Ekev
In the Shema, Jews sense personal address but know deepest expression of loyalty to God is communal
A Time To Rejoice
By internalizing the Exodus, it is as if we ourselves were redeemed from Egypt.
Shabbos: A Day With Hashem A Smile From Heaven
Each Shabbos we add the tefilla of “Ritzei” to Birchas HaMazon. In it we ask Hashem that on this day of Shabbos He should...
Why Did Moshe Daven
Why would Moshe Rabbeinu have thought that the vow that disallowed him to enter Eretz Yisrael was annulled simply because he was allowed to conquer and enter the land of Sichon and Og?
Man: Preprogrammed For Greatness (Shabbos Nachamu)
Man has conflicting wishes and desires. Man has forces pulling him in competing directions.
Consolation And Redemption
Perhaps the admonition here is that we should not trivialize the events of the past by saying that they are irrelevant to the modern Jew.
The Good Land
One must view the settlement of Israel in a positive light. Thinking otherwise is a grievous sin.
Aleph Beta: Va’etchanan: What Did Moses Do Wrong? Part II
Reaching a stronger understanding of what Moses actually did to prevent him from entering the land
Redeeming Relevance on the Weekly Torah Portion: Ve’etchanan
The 10 Statements main point was not content but the encounter between G-d & His nation, Israel
Torat Hakehillah
Before going in, I had told R’ Nachum all of the things we were doing in Philly, and how it was very important to receive a good bracha on behalf of our newest venture, a Russian Kollel.
Ethical Correctives For The First 4 Books
Devarim often parallels the stories in Bereishit but in reverse & can be considered as a corrective
Being Part Of The Winning Team
On Super Bowl Sunday itself, life seems to stop. Over one hundred million people watch the game. About half of the households in the country show it in their living rooms and dens.
Aleph Beta: Devarim: What Did Moses Do Wrong?
Moses begins Sefer Devarim reviewing much of the 40 years in the desert & why he can't enter Israel
Temples, Tribes, And Timeless Deeds
While they are definitely special occurrences, why are they cause for a new holiday?
You Have Dwelt Long Enough in Brooklyn and Beverly Hills!
Torah wasn’t given to be kept in Sinai; Brooklyn or Beverly Hills-It was meant to be kept in Israel!
When Is Tisha B’Av?
In addition to the restrictions of Tisha B’Av, there are several restrictions that one may not perform during the week that Tisha B’Av falls in.
From Tragedy To Triumph
The word “shavat” in the first kina of Tisha B’Av morning indicates a sudden suspension and cessation of time that accompanied the Temple's destruction.