Silver Linings
Our lives have effectively been upended for many long and fearful months, and the toll in lives lost and disrupted is staggering indeed... And it is sadly not yet over.
Chayei Sarah: What Makes for a Successful Life?
What Rashi's take on Sarah's life means to us.
On This Night We Are All Redeemed
It's written that only in happiness can we be redeemed. We leave the bad behind and in peace we will be led to salvation.
Preparations for Pesach
I go to sleep hoping things will change in the morning and this big nightmare will be over and then the morning comes and all I hear are new restrictions regarding this crazy epidemic.
The Kotel: Have We Gone Mad? A Call to All Denominations and...
My suggestion: Restore the Kotel to its former state, a place where all are welcome and used solely for individual prayer and meditation, just as our ancestors treated it throughout our long history.
She Tried To Find Me A Husband But She Found Me A Job
About two months later, she called to inquire if I want to work for her daughter. My heart danced at her thoughtfulness. Even though the job was not my line of work I enthusiastically accepted.
Being Held Accountable
By any standards it was a shocking episode. Jacob had settled on the outskirts of the town of Shechem, ruled by Hamor. Dinah, Jacob’s daughter, goes out to see the town. Shechem, Hamor’s son, sees her, abducts and rapes her, and then falls in love with her and wants to marry her. He begs his father, “Get me this girl as my wife.”
The Right Place at the Right Time
It can be very challenging to be arranging a flight to Israel while dealing with the needs of a large family, managing a high-pressured job, and satisfying the needs of parents who are eagerly awaiting your visit.
Against Hate
We believe that God created each of us, regardless of color, class, culture or creed, in His image.
The Time To Learn Torah Is Now
The Mishnah in Pirkei Avos says: Don't say, 'I will study Torah when I have time,' for perhaps you will never have time.
The Universality Of Sukkot
Sukkot is the most universalistic of all festivals. At the same time, however, it is the most particularist of festivals. When we sit in the sukkah, we recall Jewish history
Education: The Key To Success
Jews became the only people in history to predicate their very survival on education. The most sacred duty of parents was to teach their children. Pesach itself became an ongoing seminar in the handing on of memory.
String Theory
Have you ever noticed that you have some mitzvah that not only finds you but seems to follow you around?
Breakfast And Happiness (Part IV)
In the campaign to rob a consumer of any sense of contentedness, which translates into sales, strategy is often focused on confusing need with want and the illusion of being dissatisfied.
The Genesis Of Love
The Torah is telling us something very powerful. Never think of people as things. Never think of people as types: they are individuals. Never be content with creating systems: care also about relationships.
The Power Of 28 Sivan
Notwithstanding the war that was raging during those two years, the Rebbe simply picked up the conversation where they had left off!
The Inner Meaning Of Lech Lecha
G-d Almighty says to a Jew: In order for you to succeed in your shlichus (mission) in this world, “Lech lecha,” you must depart, “me’artzechah,” from your land. In a spiritual sense, this refers to materialism. We must depart from our own materialism.
An Amen Party In South Africa
It is very exciting because the women are answering amen because it is a mitzvah, because it is agreeing with the statement that Hashem creates all our food for us...
The Height Of Divine Providence
Nice story. But how the shidduch came about… that’s something incredible.
The Yom Kippur Miracle
My treasured parents loved Yiddishkeit. Their belief in Hashem was unwavering. My darling Daddy used to tell me that if I was ever afraid, I should recite the Shema. Whenever I was troubled, my precious Mommy would reassure me, "Gott vet helfen!" (God will help!).
Finding One’s Neshomeh: Franz Rosenzweig and the Berliner Shtiebel
We suggest all Jews and Israelis enter a small synagogue filled with dedicated and passionate worshippers, and then to release all external and artificial components from their souls; to penetrate the surroundings in which they find themselves, and then to let go. Th
A Family Built On Ideals
Miriam married at 31, and she and Shlomo had seven kids, including a set of twins. But Miriam wanted more children – not hers, other people’s. She wanted a house full of unwanted children.
Love For Mitzvos
Now we ask ourselves, what is the purpose of being part of a korban pesach group if one does not get to eat the korban?
Communication Matters
Isaac never intended to give the blessing of the covenant to Esau. He intended to give each child the blessing that suited them.
‘So Long As He Is Called By The Name Of Israel…’
This raises the question, "Why?" Why would Jews from every background imaginable travel to a distant country to spend Rosh Hashanah at the grave of an early 19th century Hasidic master?
Rabbi Sacks: Parshat Vayelech: The Second Mountain
So, as Moses faced his own life’s end, what was there left to do? The book of Devarim contains and constitutes the answer.
Collective Joy
In a word "JOY"
Loneliness And Faith
: I was not alone in feeling alone. Other people had been here before me.
A Place Called Crown Heights
I vowed that when I would grow up, I would speak Yiddish to my kinderlach and I would move to “a place called Crown Heights.”
Special People
I try to open up the eyes of the people around me to have more sensitivity and awareness regarding all people who were not blessed with optimal health.
