A Window Of Opportunity
Sophie eagerly anticipated her meanderings through the ancient streets of the Old City of Jerusalem where her ancestors had walked thousands of years ago.
Q & A: Hachana (Part I)
QUESTION: Is it halachically permissible to pack on the Sabbath or Yom Tov for a trip to be taken on the next day?Moishe HalberstamBrooklyn, NY
Don’t Lose Focus
A tragedy occurred. Jews were targeted and murdered because they were Jews. Our focus should not be who indirectly caused this to transpire.
Treif Toaster
Tosfos writes [Gittin 47a; Pesachim 57a] that hefker (disowning) rooted in error is not hefker, just as a gift or transaction rooted in error is not valid [C.M. 246:1-3].
The Limitations Of The Mind
Halacha isn't random; it's a mechanism guiding individuals and society to a higher ethical plateau.
Q & A: Why No Shehecheyanu Before Counting The Omer? (Part II)
Question: I have long wondered why we don’t say Shehecheyanu when we start counting the Omer. Can you explain the reasoning behind this practice?
M. Schwartz
The Megillah: How-To Manual on Defeating Anti-Semites
Israel must demonstrate confidence in ourselves and an iron determination to defy our antagonists. Mordechai teaches that it is not through appeasement that one achieves peace but rather through strength, self-assurance and unequivocally firm resistance to tyranny and injustice.
Now Or Never
I knew in my heart if I did not take my first step soon all my ambition would fizzle.
Q & A: Kaddish Elevates (Part VII)
Question: When a son says Kaddish for his parents, can they hear it? Also, are their souls elevated to a higher place as a result?
Ben Glassman
May One Use White Wine For Kiddush?
The fourth dibrah of the Asseres Hadibros that is read in this week’s parshah says, “Zachor es yom haShabbos lekadsho – remember to sanctify the Shabbos.” The Gemara in Pesachim 106a derives from this pasuk that one must recite Kiddush on Shabbos over a cup of wine.
Eating In The Sukkah On Shemini Atzeret
Should we sit in the sukkah on a day that may be the eighth day when we are not commanded to sit in the sukkah at all?
A Jewish Burial – Whatever The Price
After several sleepless days, the team had been able to speak with the Guamanian and United States funeral homes, the airline, and the widow.
A Tick To Remember
This young, innocent child gave me a powerful, warm surge of energy and strength.
Redeeming Relevance: Parshat Vayigash: Yosef‘s Invitation in to Exile
Yosef wanting to see his father Yakov again is understandable. Perhaps Yosef could not have left Egypt to do so. But did Yosef’s desire to see him justify making his father leave Israel for Egypt?
Serious Business
When one vows to do something, or to refrain from doing something, the Torah views that pledge with tremendous seriousness. Violating one’s word is referred to as a “desecration of one’s word.”
Who’s To Judge?
Once a person receives it, he becomes personally attached to the one who gave it to him - so attached that now he will view that person's position as his own... and a person does not see his own faults!
Sukkot (Feast of Tabernacles) Guide for the Perplexed, 2015
Sukkot is a universal holiday, inviting all peoples of the world to come on pilgrimage to Jerusalem.
Q & A: Staying Awake Shavuot Night
Question: Many people stay awake Shavuot night and learn Torah. Is this proper considering that one’s davening the next morning may lack kavannah as a result? Wouldn’t it make more sense to get a good night’s sleep and then learn with more fervor the next day?
No Name Please
(Via E-Mail)
Who Is Honored?
In parshat Tetzaveh, for once Moses, the hero, the leader, the liberator, the lawgiver, is offstage. Instead our focus is on his elder brother Aaron who, elsewhere, is often in the background.
When Both Litigants Are Uncertain Of Their Claims (Siman 75:18)
It is the certainty with which the plaintiff presses his claim that obliges the defendant to take an oath and that saddles him with a moral obligation to pay.
Breakfast And Happiness (Conclusion)
Separating fun from happiness can liberate, regarding (a) time, (b) money and (c) jealousy.
The White Lie
Truthfulness is a fundamental value in Jewish yet truth isn't its highest value. Peace is. Why so?
A Family Torn Asunder
From the archives of Rebbetzin Jungreis (ZT"L), the conclusion to the story of a family torn apart by an obstinate brother.
Broken Key
"I'm still not sure we have a right to damage his property," said Mrs. Schloss. "Can you ask someone?"
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