Celebrating Yom Yerushalayim
Question: Is there anything special that one should do on Yom Yerushalayim?
Q & A: The Hereafter – Olam Haba (Part XI)
Question: How do we know that there is an olam haba – a world to come?
L. Papirmeister
Q & A: Shemittah And IOUs (Part VI)
Question: I recently loaned money to a friend who has been able to repay only part of it. This was an interest-free loan. We exchanged a signed IOU, not a proper shtar with witnesses, since I have always trusted her integrity and only wanted a document that confirms what was loaned and what was repaid. Now that shemittah is approaching, what should I do? Should I forgive the loan? And if my friend is not able to repay it, may I deduct the unpaid money from my ma’aser requirement?
Name Withheld
The True Nature Of Reparations
Recouping $ and assets from Germans and Swiss for their Holocaust actions is rooted in the Exodus
Parshat Vayakheil
Why do dreams nit becine okans and why do strategic ideas rarely get implemented?
You Must Believe Me That I Repaid You Earlier Today Because I Could Have...
Such a defense can only be raised at the end of the day because it is based on a migo. The migo is that if the borrower were lying, he could have come up with a better defense.
The Dark Clouds
Moses acted properly in his role of prophet. He failed in his role as a husband; he did not see Tziporah's suffering, her black cloud.
Jerusalem’s Unique Character and Holiness
Maimonides believes that even after the Roman conquest of Israel the land retained its holiness.
The Heart Of Teshuvah
The Angel Raziel read the sefer together with Adam, who fell on his face, shaking.
Q & A: Forgetting Al Hanissim On Chanukah
Question: If someone forgot to recite Al Hanissim in Shemoneh Esreh or Birkat Hamazon on Chanukah, does he have to go back and repeat them?
Moshe Jakobowitz
Brooklyn, NY
Was There A Coincidence In The Air?
My daughter, son-in-law and three children had reason to move to Buffalo, NY from Brooklyn this past summer. As we watched our grandchildren’s cute little faces peeled and waving through the back window, we knew we were in for a huge adjustment. We knew we would obviously miss them but we also were aware that we gave our children wings to do as they saw necessary (and they saw it necessary to drive seven hours away to their new home).
Is It Proper…? – “Is Enrolling In A Secular College Ever Appropriate In Today’s...
This week’s question is: “Is enrolling in a secular college ever appropriate in today’s day and age?”
Home Sweet Home
There are no enemies confronting us, there are no terrorists to threaten us, and we can clearly see Hashem’s direction and guardianship of the land.
Chametz Delivery
After a couple of hours in the kitchen, the meat was on the fire, the chicken in the oven, and some kugels already out on the table.
Rosh Hashanah’s Three Important Words
Being a Torah Jew means "Making It Happen" 24 hours a day and 365 days a year. It requires determination, focus and lots of positive energy but it's all worth it because we were chosen for this job above 99% of the world so Hashem knows we can do it.
Parashah Terumah: The Placement Of The Mishkan’s Planks
In this week’s parshah the Torah discusses many of the various aspects of the mishkan. The Torah dictates in detail the manner in which the walls of the mishkan were to be erected. At the instructions’ conclusion, the pasuk says, “Vahakeimosa es hamishkan, k’mishpato asher har’eisa bahar – and you shall erect the mishkan according to its laws, as you will have been shown on the mountain” (Shemos 26:30).
Parshat Mikeitz
Having come to the conclusion that nobody was more qualified than Yosef to lead Egypt in anticipation of and during the approaching famine, Pharaoh appointed him prime minister. This appointment made Yosef the second most powerful man in Egypt.
Yoram Ettinger: Purim Guide for the Perplexed 2012
Purim is the holiday of contradictions and tenacity-driven-optimism: Grief replaced by joy; Esther's concealment replaced by the disclosure of her national/religious identity; Haman's intended genocide of the Jews replaced by redemption; Haman replaced by Mordechai; national and personal pessimism replaced by optimism.
Faith Over Reason
Faith is an oasis in the heart which will never be reached by the caravan of thinking. -Kahlil Gibran
Parshas HaChodesh: Fostering Newness
The Jewish people do not usher in months like the rest of the world.
Nitzavim-Vayeilech
Peter Drucker famously said, “Long range planning does not deal with future decisions, but with the future of present decisions.” Sadly, history is replete with examples of leaders who have not only ignored this principle, but who have lost focus of their immediate goals. By doing so, they not only fail to think about the second and third layers of effects, but they fail to consider the possibility of unintended consequences.
Believing In Hashem’s Packages
Upon returning home from food shopping, I had to park my van a block and a half from where I live. It was difficult for me to carry the heavy food packages and my pocketbook, but I managed to get to the beginning of my block.
Q & A: Arabs Circumcise At 13 (Part VIII)
Question: If Abraham was commanded to circumcise his descendants on the eighth day, why do Arabs – who claim to descend from Abraham through Yishmael – wait until their children are 13 to circumcise them? I am aware that this is a matter of little consequence to our people. Nevertheless, this inconsistency is one that piques my curiosity.
M. Goldman
(Via E-mail)
Daf Yomi
A Line Of Demarcation
‘…Until He Came… Between The Two Curtains…’
(Yoma 51b)
Appreciating Equality
Judaism was so democratic that not only did it reject familial and economic aristocracy, it rejected intellectual aristocracy as well. We have many laws to honor Torah scholars.
The Guarantors
“We offer you our children, Hashem” responded Am Yisrael. “They will be our surety.”
Tefillah: A Meeting With Hashem – The Missing Pillar
When we learn and heed the commands of the Torah we connect to Hashem by working to understand what He has revealed to us in the Torah.
Q & A: Proper Ritual At Netilat Yadayim (Part VIII)
Question: Should we wash our hands in the bathroom with soap and water, or by pouring water from a vessel with handles three times, alternating hands? I have heard it said that a vessel is used only in the morning upon awakening. What are the rules pertaining to young children? What is the protocol if no vessel is available? Additionally, may we dry our hands via an electric dryer?
Harry Koenigsberg
(Via E-Mail)