In Your Blood You Shall Live
We must continue to dream big: The magnitude of the evil perpetrated against us on October 7 was shocking. It turns out, that we can also be surprised by the good.
What Message Would You Write On A Sign Over The Ayalon Highway?
Israel will be the source of light, Jews from around the world will return to the Land, and the humiliation and hatred Israel once suffered will be replaced with universal admiration.
Ribo, New York, And Redemption
The mitzvot enable us to take the most basic things of all: our bodies, our possessions, our most physical parts, and to sanctify them.
Saying Goodbye To Hersh Goldberg-Polin
Rachel spoke: I want to thank G-d right now in front of all of you for giving me this magnificent present of my son Hersh. For 23 years I was privileged to have the most stunning honor to be Hersh’s mama. I’ll take this moment to say thank you.
Their Last Day Of Saying Kaddish
As this period of Kaddish comes to a close, one bereaved family asked me to thank the general public on their behalf.
Caution: Prosperity Ahead
The Book of Devarim describes the great danger of living in a prosperous society that offers people everything they desire and in large amounts. It’s challenging to live in poverty – but it’s also challenging to live in wealth.
Fasting On Tisha B’Av This Year
This year, Tisha B’Av was not just symbolic, but painfully real. It is not a coincidence that our enemies are threatening to attack us on that day, G-d forbid.
Muhammad Deif & Donald Trump – Making Sense Of What Happened
When you feel that the world is going mad, it is important to return to our sources. Our Torah portion this week reminds us that what we are experiencing today has occurred before.
The Lubavitcher Rebbe: 30 Years Since His Passing
In America, where he arrived from Europe in 1941, mitzvah observance had become moribund, increasingly disconnected from the modern world. The Rebbe reversed this trend by demanding more Torah, more Jewish brotherhood, more Jewish education.
The Reality Outside Vs. The Reality Inside
Who are the sources of our information regarding the war? After five get-togethers and lectures in the United States that included difficult questions on the situation in Israel, I understood how important it is to check our information sources.
When Those Around Us Despair
When faced with uncertainty, confusion, or disillusionment due to current challenges, turning our thoughts positively towards the past and the future can empower us with perspective and inner strength.
To Learn From Our Mistakes And Continue On Our Journey
.Shabbat Shalom
The Ten Commandments – More Relevant Than Ever
A Jewish student from MIT visiting Israel told me, after describing the hypocritical protests on behalf of Hamas that took place on her campus: What our world needs the most now is faith, vision, and a clear moral compass.
Heroic Moments
May you and all the wounded have a speedy and complete recovery, Michael. We can only imagine how many wonderful heroic acts like this are taking place each day in rehabilitation clinics throughout Israel.
A Few Words Apropos The Wedding Season That Begins Now
The UN security council stood for a moment of silence in his memory. What exactly were they thinking about during that moment of silence, which was also observed by the U.S. Deputy Ambassador to the UN?
Yom HaZikaron For The Fallen Soldiers Of Israel And Victims Of Terror: Let The...
In a Tel Aviv train station, I stood looking at the stickers on the walls. A common theme emerging from these stickers? The importance of remembering to smile.
One Family
This past week in Israel we marked Holocaust Remembrance Day. Only three years following the extermination of one-third of our people, the Jewish nation rose from the ashes of the camps to declare an independent state. Such a revival needs to be our focus at the present time.
A Picture Of Consolation And Renewal
This is the skyline of Sderot today. We are building and winning and being renewed.
What Will We Take With Us From Purim?
Esther wore royalty. When she acted with self-confidence, with true conviction and devotion to her people and to G-d – everything began to fall into place and to turn around for the good.
Jerusalem Consoles
I saw in the eyes of the mourners how Jerusalem consoles. One of the grieving fathers left the Kotel tunnels in tears and said: I connected with all of our past and all of our future and to the historic task of our family within all of this.
Have You Heard Of David Magerman?
The time has come for us to make aliyah. I’ve already purchased a home in Israel. I did not merit for my children to be born there, but I do hope that my grandchildren will.
The Request Of A Soldier Who Lost A Leg
Let us hope that children from Be’eri, Sderot, and Kfar Aza can gain strength from his story. This is not only a personal story of Yisrael, the orphaned child. This is the story of the nation of Israel.
True Beauty
The Mishkan’s construction is described at length, down to the finest detail. What, in fact, is the importance of these small details?
And Your Children Will Return To Their Borders
They are a reminder that everything can suddenly be turned upside down – and turn out for the best.
Outstanding Evaluations For Outstanding Children
One example of the special evaluations that school children in Israel have received in recent days is a Certificate of Heroism.
Soldier Learns the Entire Tanach in 100 Days
He related that when he was called up for reserve duty, he tried to think of something that would be spiritually fulfilling, and decided that whenever he’d have some spare time, he’d study Tanach with the commentary of Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz.
How Are You?
This is not only about resiliency or a return to the routine of daily life and normal functioning. It is rather growth as a direct, beneficial consequence of the trauma itself.
A Bar Mitzvah At 49 Years Of Age
.Shabbat Shalom
He Gave His Kidney, And Then He Gave His Life
For six years I underwent dialysis until he arrived and saved me.