Absolutely Perfect
When someone makes shalom between rival parties, what does that mean?
Q & A: The Blessing of Ha’Gomel (Part II)
Question: I recently returned from a trip abroad. When I entered my synagogue early one weekday morning, I asked the officers for an aliyah so that I could bless Gomel. I was informed that I could receive an aliyah; however, as per the rabbi’s instruction, I would have to wait until the Sabbath to bless Gomel. I was not given any reason for this and did not wish to display my ignorance, so I quietly acquiesced. Can you please explain what was meant?
Name Withheld
Via E-mail
The Enduring Bond Of The Jewish People
We daven together in synagogues that feel familiar whether we’re in Toronto or Tel Aviv. We mourn together when tragedy strikes and we celebrate together when a lost hostage comes home or an aliyah flight lands in Ben-Gurion Airport.
Shattered Peace
Going out before the people and going in before them is one type of leadership. It is the leadership of the humble public servant who bends before the needs of his people.
Parshat Pinchas: Between the Spear and the Whisper
Not every gut impulse is a moral directive. When we confuse conscience with certainty, we risk mistaking personal anger for sacred missions.
Tribal Tallies & A Syllable Syllabus
If Parshat Bamidbar showed why the Book of Bamidbar is called the Book of Numbers, then Parshat Pinchas confirms that name.
A Sin-Offering For Hashem
Rabbbeinu Bachye finds it problematic to accept the literal interpretation that Hashem somehow erred, requiring our intercession on His behalf. He explains that the real purpose of this mitzvah of the Chatat on Rosh Chodesh is to give hope to those who have gone astray but wish to return to the faithful service of Hashem.
Apportioning Hishtadlus
Striking the right balance between Torah and one’s livelihood is a tricky business. Especially since making a living is a mitzvah in itself.
The Goalie Gets The Same Trophy As The Forward
We might think ancient society was cruel to women – and in many ways, the ancient world did not sufficiently protect individual rights – but I can’t think of anything more cruel than the modern conception that a woman should feel obligated to compete in the employment marketplace and jump back into work six weeks or three months after the most profound experience of childbirth.
From Last to First: The Story of the Nesiim (Part II)
We don’t wait for spirituality to come to us; we proactively seek it out. We don’t let time wash over us; we actively ride the waves of time.
Shabbat: Understanding Rest and Creation
Working six days and resting on the seventh reminds us that Hashem did the same when He created the world. Shabbat is a weekly reminder of how the world came to be. It was created by Hashem, and is not just here on its own.
Beyond Boundaries
It’s that sense of altruism and unity that gives us hope that we will merit to witness Mashiach.
Am K’lavi – A Nation Like a Lion
I understand that halacha frowns on engaging in personal needs before Shacharis, including travel, Eliyahu said. But I have a choice between davening at home and then fighting traffic, often getting late to work, or joining a minyan near work and avoiding traffic.
Rabbi Dayan listened attentively. Eliyahu asked, Can I drive to work and daven Shacharis there?
Daf Yomi
A Matter Of Time
‘One Who Is Recognized As An Expert...’
(Avoda Zarah 26b)
Don’t Share
We live such public and exposed lives today, yet in this week’s parsha we are reminded to seek the blessing of privacy.
Q & A: The Blessing of Ha’Gomel (Part I)
Question: I recently returned from a trip abroad. When I entered my synagogue early one weekday morning, I asked the officers for an aliyah so that I could bless HaGomel. I was informed that I could receive an aliyah, however – as per the Rabbi’s instruction – I would have to wait until the Sabbath to bless HaGomel. I was not given any reason for this and did not wish to display my ignorance, so I quietly acquiesced. Can you please explain what was meant?
Name Withheld
Via Email
Parshat Balak: It Was Just Tuesday – Shame, Blessing, and the Voice We Choose to...
In Parshat Balak, Bilaam never saw the people he was meant to curse. He viewed them from a distance; abstractly, impersonally. His words came not from relationship, but rather from obligation, from politics, from agenda. And yet they could have reshaped a people’s destiny.
Allied Enemies
Balak realized that Midyan and Moav, the erstwhile enemies, would have to make a truce and gang up as allies against Israel. But since G-d was on Israel’s side, there was no way he could prevent the Jews from ultimately taking over the land.
Fast Fallout & Three-Letter Sedras
Balak precedes the Fast of the Fourth Month (that’s what the navi calls Shiv’a Asar b’Tammuz) almost 80% of the time. That includes, in Chutz LaAretz, the years when Shavuot is Friday-Shabbat and the sedra right before the fast is Chukat-Balak.
Sight and Speech
Balak was evil – he did not want to elevate himself to the level of Am Yisrael, he wanted to reduce Am Yisrael down to his level, or even lower.
The Daf and on the Sale of Weapons
One may not sell lions to Gentiles, according to the Talmud, because lions can cause injury to the public (Avodah Zarah 16), to put it mildly.
Avoiding The Evil Eye
His father told him: You decide which yeshiva you want to go to. Don’t tell me your decision. When the day comes to leave to yeshiva, take your suitcase, go to the yeshiva, and I don’t want to know where you are going.
Where Religion And Nationhood Coincide
According to he Netziv, If Jews live distinctive and apart from others they will dwell safely, but if they seek to emulate ‘the nations’ they ‘will not be reckoned’ as anything special at all.
Chen And Now:Forbidden Praise & Esav’s Paradox
Though the Shulchan Aruch agrees with the Rambam’s broad prohibition, his final clause might offer some room for an answer. It is permitted to note the beauty of an idolator if the focus of the comment is to praise G-d and not the person.
The Root Of All Idolatry
Idolatry is insidious and it sneaks into the hearts of the unwary by way of small compromises and prohibited acts that appear insignificant at first.
When Hashem Asks for Your Phone
Rabbi Sauber told his class, We are about to learn about the greatest act of self-sacrifice that ever occurred.
From Last to First: The Story of the Nesi’im
The most obvious form of chesed is giving money, but this is far from ideal. Short-term monetary gifts do not usually solve a long-term struggle with poverty; the person will therefore remain dependent and poor.
Through the Mail Slot
If the borrower slipped payment through the mail slot without prior arrangement, and somehow it got lost in the household shuffle or some other manner, it is unclear whether this is considered valid repayment, replied Rabbi Dayan.
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