Judaism

In front of me the story of Am Yisrael came alive. The world may proclaim our end but here we are. One must only kindle the flame. The spark is never extinguished.

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

Analyzing the request to live on Jordan's other side to understand true communication: Trust&Respect

I watched the teller, who clearly did not appreciate this person’s lack of etiquette. ... It was then that I realized what the Mesilas Yesharim meant.

Having decided to content themselves with what they have, they are happy with their portion regardless of what it may be.

As the realization that he was a Jew began to change his life, it also transformed his understanding of the world.

Chassidus explains that the spies weren’t afraid they couldn’t defeat the Canaanites. They didn’t wish to enter the Land because they knew they would be forced to become involved in the material world as a result.

True repentance requires a confession that enables the sinner to focus totally on his own errors.

You must pay the price if you wish to secure the blessing. -Andrew Jackson

Question: When a person buys tefillin, the shel yad often comes with a cover within the cover, which many people leave on during davening. Is this proper?

For each of us G-d has a task: work to perform, a kindness to show, a gift to give, love to share, loneliness to ease, pain to heal, or broken lives to help mend.

The truth is that kilay in the sense of miser is a rather obscure and archaic Biblical Hebrew word, seemingly not used in Mishnaic Hebrew.

I have had much experience in bikur cholim – visiting the sick. Even at the age of six I would accompany my saintly father on his rounds to slave labor camps where young Jewish men were incarcerated by the Hungarians prior to the Nazi occupation.

The Egyptians enslaved the Israelites, planned a program against them of slow genocide, and then refused to let them go despite the plagues that were devastating the land. Are these reasons not to hate?

Adam's two Fermatas resonate in the two Noahs, and the notes continue to reverberate in our souls as we struggle to retain our connection to the Garden,

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It’s interesting to note here that in the West, the dove of Noach has come to represent peace, although this was neither the promise to Noach nor the sign of the promise.

Even a single negative word or phrase, when focused on for extended periods of time, can damage key brain structures that regulate memory and emotion.

QUESTION: What does a person do if he left Israel after the 7th of Cheshvan (which was on November 2 this year), where they already commenced saying "Ve'ten tal u'matar," but before they start doing so in the diaspora (typically on December 5, but on December 6 at Maariv this year, since the evening of December 5 is a Sabbath)?Isaac HagerBrooklyn, NY

Interview with Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks (z”l) May his memory be a continued light for the world

For the past 10 years, I have been privileged to be part of a women's Tehillim group in Jerusalem. Every Shabbat, we meet and divide Sefer Tehillim (the Book of Psalms). We pray for the safety of our soldiers, for Eretz Yisrael, and for those injured in terrorist attacks. We also bring our individual lists of people in need of Divine assistance. We pray for women waiting to become mothers, for singles waiting to meet their spouses, for sick people waiting for good health, and for soldiers waiting to come home.

Ever since the funeral, thousands of people began to perform wonderful deeds in her memory – from distributing Shabbat candles and challahs throughout New York City to holding large havdalah gatherings for passersby in Jewish neighborhoods.

Why do we call this Shabbos, Shabbos Shuvah? Is it because it’s the only Shabbos during the Aseres Yemei Teshuva? That can’t be the reason. After all, we don’t call this Shabbos, Shabbos Teshuvah. It’s specifically called Shabbos Shuvah. So you’ll tell me, shuvah, teshuvah—same thing, right? Both mean repentance. But we will see that the difference between teshuvah and shuvah is all the difference in the world.

Utilizing the hidden light of Chanukah, we can defeat Islam and Yishmael.

Whenever a physical war is fought on earth, a spiritual war takes place simultaneously between the respective sarim of the earthly combatants.

He needed to get a minyan of ten Jews. By now it was after midnight. The streets were empty, deserted; not a living creature could be seen. Where would it be possible to get another eight – aside from the rabbi and groom – to complete a minyan at this hour?

“We offer you our children, Hashem” responded Am Yisrael. “They will be our surety.”

Question: I am an Ashkenazi Jew. I daven nusach Sefarad, but lately I find myself in a congregation that davens nusach Ashkenaz. May I join them in prayer and, if yes, in what manner? Name Withheld by Request

The spies that led Israel to national catastrophe mistakenly thought that the value of preserving life overrides the commandment to free Eretz Yisrael.

Tisha Be’Av asks the ultimate questions, the same ones which Job confronted: Why do we lose what is most precious? Why do we suffer?