Friendship Fix
When we finally yet inevitably bit the proverbial bullet and introduced ourselves to one another, we discovered that we had multiple connections in common, including mutual friends and close family members.
Mitzvah Angels
Every bar mitzvah is special, but some are more special than others.
Thirteen years ago, our son was born with a rare and life-threatening condition. The first few years were touch and go. Each milestone in his life carried extra significance.
A Funny Thing Happened To Me On The Way To Sheva Brachos
Rain can happen at any time. It’s a mere coincidence taking place just to send shivers up my spine.
Deepening Our Understanding Of Sefiras Ha’Omer And Shavuos
The first night of Pesach was a gift, an experience of transcendence. This night was characterized by the miracles of makkas bechoros and yetzias Mitzrayim, which connected the Jewish people to a higher dimension of existence.
Divinely Arranged
Lo and behold, both my niece and nephew decided on an arrangement that I had rejected just a few minutes earlier! And although it was not particularly my taste, I was so beyond grateful that they both agreed that the style, the colors, the flowers, basically everything about it, would be to our mutual in-laws' liking.
Heat With The In-laws
The groom does not join a new family, but rather branches off from his own family, creating a new subdivision of it.
Thoughts to Ponder: The Kotel – Have We Gone Mad?
The Wall is not a synagogue. It never was a synagogue and should never become one. It is a place where we Jews can meet, pray and share what we have in common instead of focusing on what divides us; where we can smile at each other even when we vehemently disagree.
Aseres Hadibros: Engrave Them On Your Soul
When we understand that every single aspect of our life is given to us in order to help us fulfill our unique purpose, what another person has becomes irrelevant, and jealousy becomes nonsensical.
Healing The Heart Of Darkness
As the realization that he was a Jew began to change his life, it also transformed his understanding of the world.
A Meaningful Hospital Stay During Chanukah
Patience seems to be in such short supply these days, yet it can make a world of difference. This is particularly so in certain kinds of stressful situations whereby we think we only have time to act in a knee-jerk way instead of acting thoughtfully.
Another Passover Miracle
I scanned my room and saw that my dresser drawers were pulled open with clothes spilling out like rags. The door to my closet was ajar and my belongings lay on the floor. I had just been robbed!
Reb Yoel’s Genius
The specialty of Reb Yoel is that not only did he remember what the Rebbe said – and he remembered very well – but he also understood what the Rebbe said.
Understanding Sacrifice
What was sacrifice in Judaism and why does it remain important, at least as an idea, even today?
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.
A Walk In The Park
A few short months ago I lost my one and only uncle. He was very special and a great void was felt. He left a wonderful wife, children, grandchildren and great- grandchildren – and, Baruch Hashem, even some great-great-grandchildren.
Aseret Hadibrot: Oneness And Twoness
One unique feature of the Luchot is that there were two sets given to us. The original was created by Hashem and given to Moshe, whereas the second set was hewn by the hands of Moshe. However, the difference between these two sets is not simply practical; the two sets of Luchot are fundamentally different.
When Why Becomes What
No one likes to be in the company of a pessimistic and depressing person. To say the least, it's not a pleasant experience.
Happy Even Now?!
When the askan heard this, he was devastated. After more than two and a half years of waiting for a kidney, the rabbi missed this opportunity because his 'helper' decided to go to sleep and call later. How would he break this to Rabbi Kerelenstein?!
A Perfect Wedding Match
Rav Lieberman called the simcha hall to cancel their booking, but it wasn’t so simple to find another date at a suitable venue.
Pesach: God’s Sporadic Presence and Overwhelming Absence in Human History
It is perhaps this fact that makes Pesach so relevant for our own times: The realization that even at the time of the greatest of miracles, many years passed without God revealing Himself openly.
Brilliant Prohibitions
In the same way that rays of light spread out to illuminate as much as possible, an enlightened person must spread his intellectual purview…in order to not violate what is expected of him.
Why Don’t We Do Teshuvah On Rosh Hashanah?
Why don’t we find the teshuvah process to be a part of the Rosh Hashanah davening, as we do on Yom Kippur?
A Successive Tribute To Lion of Justice Norman Rosenbaum, z”l (Part 3)
Norman Rosenbaum was the only one in his family up to making the trans-world trip and accepting the challenge.
The Far Horizon
Moses’ insight was profound. He knew that you cannot change the world by externalities alone, by monumental architecture, or armies and empires, or the use of force and power.
Almonds, Almond Trees And A City Or Two
Alternatively, shaked may refer to the almond fruit/nut itself, and to the almond tree only in a borrowed sense – while luz refers directly to the almond tree. It seems that Avraham Even-Shoshan’s dictionary follows this approach.
Rabbi Jonathan Sacks: The Fear Of Freedom
The episode of the spies has rightly puzzled commentators throughout the centuries. How could they have got it so wrong? The land, they said, was as Moses had promised. It was indeed “flowing with milk and honey.” But conquering it was impossible. “The people who live there are powerful, and the cities fortified and very large. We even saw descendants of the giant there … We can’t attack those people; they are stronger than we are … All the people we saw there are of great size. We saw the titans there … We seemed like grasshoppers in our own eyes, and so we seemed in theirs” (Numbers 13:28-33).
Dirt, Dust, And Ashes
Another word for dust, mentioned above, is “avak.” Rabbi Pappenheim argues that afar is run-of-the-mill dirt while avak is finer dust.
In The Grace And Beauty Of The Matriarchs
When I was considering making aliyah, I was aware of how challenging the move might be, especially since much of my family stayed behind in the U.S. But the deep longing to be in Israel was too strong. It was like a giant magnet pulling on my soul, until I finally let go and came home.
Flying To Falling: The Raging Battle Within Us All
Cheit Ha’Egel, the sin of the golden calf, is perhaps the most infamous event in the Torah, a sin compared to the original sin of Adam HaRishon and one that has repercussions throughout Jewish history.
Honesty First
The only solution is to recommit ourselves to being completely honest. With Hashem's help we can make a fresh new start this year based on truth.