The Road to Atonement
Gaining through sacrifice
Parshat Vayakheil-Pikudei
Leaders must have the courage to try new things, build new edifices and achieve new heights.
A Collateral For Our Sins
Rebbi suffered terrible stomach pains for 13 years for his lack of pity on a calf.
Stuck At Home
coronavirus has given all of us homework
The ‘Rambam Of Chassidus’
To counteract increasing secularization, he campaigned to create an association of Torah-observant Jews throughout Eastern and Central Europe, which later crystallized into Agudath Israel.
Redeeming Relevance: Parshat Vayakhel: Dr. Frankenstein’s Melacha
Perhaps in the midst of the great uncertainties created by the Coronavirus pandemic, it is all too easy to remember that we are not God. But the temptation to think otherwise still exists. And once the pandemic will be over and man will continue to build better and better tools to control his fate and his environment, that temptation will regain its strength
Don’t Go At It Alone
The Alter of Navardok writes that the merit of the multitudes is so great that if three chassidim from Rasyen claimed they could fly, he would believe them.
The Coronavirus: Embracing Uncertainty
“All of us are presently learning a course in ‘How to live with uncertainty.’ From my experience, to succeed in this course you need to open your heart to embrace the unexpected.
What We Owe The Rebbe Rayatz
He also encouraged rabbinic leaders and those who wrote English well to disseminate knowledge of taharas mishpacha and other practical mitzvos.
Relatable Greatness
The greatest of leaders are those who are able, not only to lead by example, but also to lead through experience.
Defining Too Quickly: Do You Know What It Means to be Rahum?
I suggest we begin to realize we know less about what it means to be Gdly, in the halakhically important sense of fulfilling this mitzvah, than we think. Ordinary compassion or mercy may be good and laudable, but few of the commentators pointed to it as what it means to emulate Hashem’s being rahum
Are The Elections Really Over?
Defined by our choices
Re-Experiencing Purim’s Miracles
A primary lesson of Purim, then, is to relive the vital awareness that Hashem is protecting His people in exile, “scattered among the nations.”
Joyous – For A Whole Month?
There is actually an obligation to be joyous.
Redeeming Relevance: Parsht Tetzaveh: The Risks God Wants Us to Take
So who had it better, Moshe or Aharon?
Why Were The Menorah’s Goblets Upside Down?
Whatever the case may be: Why would the goblets have been upside down?
Hearts On Fire
The real contribution is intense love and fervor for Hashem with which we give.
Three Lessons From The Coronavirus
Humanity today has received an abundance of life and health as an incredible gift. But does it properly take advantage of this blessing?
You Have to Imagine It First
Why would we want a Mikdash?
Contagious Conversations – Constant Contact
Ideas we feel compelled to share, insights we're desperate to impart, powerful experiences we reveal are all contagious, Torah conversations that are contagious build a Home for the Divine Presence.
Parshat Mishpatim
A society needs laws to function, while at the same time it needs to provide opportunities within the structure for the human spirit to blossom.
The Uniqueness Of The Chassidic Approach
Often he strove to aid Jews materially even before working to elevate them spiritually because an improved material life allows one’s spiritual life to thrive.
On Thunder And Apples
“We cannot keep the thunder and lightning of Sinai with us, but we can take the spirit of Sinai and incorporate it into mitzvoth – whether we are at the market, at home, in the bank or the car.
Because Hashem Said So
Mitzvos that seemed rational in earlier generations may seem irrational today.
Redeeming Relevance: Parshat Mishpatim: An Eye for an Eye and the Best of All...
The traditional understanding – that the Torah is referring to the monetary value of an eye – is not without its difficulties either
Making Amends
Torah is to be taught as healing, as a relationship, as nurturing. It is this Torah I love and that gives me life.
The Delicate Balance
The challenge is finding the delicate balance between knowing our calling and not burning ourselves out.
Don’t Stop At Hearing
Only Yisro went deeper into what this all meant to him. He didn’t just hear – he changed.
The Angels’ Great Secret
Angels don’t anticipate a reward when they do Hashem’s bidding and therefore the mitzvos they perform are absolute and perfect.
Translation is Hard, Dibberot and Avoda Zarah Edition
These Ten Sayings weren’t about specific commandments, they were foundational ideas for the Jewish people, were said at that momentous event to capture what we were becoming by accepting the Torah. What mattered were Ten Sayings, however many commandments they reflected.