Torah

As you enter the actual museum one becomes a little uneasy as you are explained that for the next one and a half hours you will be walking in total darkness.

The first verse, however, concerns someone who davens with a minyan. Such a person is assured that his prayers will be heard by Hashem any time of year.

Tens of thousands of us studied Mishnayot in memory of those killed on Simchat Torah. Acheinu allowed us to do so together with Jews around the country and the world.

We have become so accustomed to rattle off berachos that we don't let them penetrate. Before we start, it's over

To have mehudar matzos on leil haSeder is very important, but so is feeding the poor. Davening at the amud during the year in memory of a loved one is important, but so is stepping aside in favor of someone else in a similar situation to whom davening at the amud clearly means a lot. Time is precious, but so is giving up that time for the sake of another. How does one decide what to do?

There isn’t much we know about his life, and what we do know seems to parallel many of the events in Avraham’s life.

When people change and “fake” their body posture from reflecting being closed off and timid to an open, power posture (think a Superman pose), they feel more confident and are more willing to act courageously.

The message of the Biblical account of the Spies has tremendous relevance today, here in the modern State of Israel. With a nuclear threat from Iran, enemy states on its borders, the ever-constant fear of terrorism, and pressure from the International Community, Israel is not without its challenges. But it’s also the ‘Start Up Nation,’ with a healthy, growing economy when most of the world’s economies are failing.

In order to generate peace, the Sages (Mishnah Brachot 9:5) instituted using the word shalom as a friendly greeting to one another despite it being Hashem’s holy name.

We can express gratitude for a benefit bestowed by a friend, but that gratitude can also have a spiritual component if we also thank G-d for helping to orchestrate the place of this friend or the significance of the gift in our lives.

When everyone else was a bystander, Moshe takes action and defends the Ivri.

“Isn’t there an obligation upon the Jewish community to accept a day school graduate because of the mere fact that he is a product of a Jewish Hebrew day school?”

Rabbi Dan Roth's very first day teaching in yeshiva did not at all go as planned. After learning in kollel for many years in some of the best yeshivos in Israel, Rabbi Roth got his first job teaching in a program for teens-at-risk. A short time before taking the job, he wrote a sefer on modern-day lessons gleaned from the teachings of Pirkei Avos. In the process of writing the book, he realized that he had a talent for making Torah concepts relevant and down-to-earth.

‘Woe to a person who is not aware of his faults, for he does not know what he needs to correct. But double woe to a person who is not aware of his virtues, for he is lacking the tools for correcting himself’ – Rabbi Yerucham Levovitz

Though the Yamim Noraim should also be a time when we draw close to and strengthen our love of Hashem, they begin with recognizing that He is judging us and determining our fate for the upcoming year.

Each time, as I behold the majesty of our beautiful land of Israel, I wonder: How is it possible that some of our people cannot see what I see – the miracle of the existence of the State of Israel?

New York City
CANDLE LIGHTING TIME
Jan. 31, 2003 - 28 Shevat 5763
4:52 p.m. E.S.T.

Another Hebrew word for tax is meches, appearing six times in chapter 31 of Sefer Bamidbar.

There is an obvious question about this story. Why would Sichon and Og wage war with Klal Yisrael?

In times of surplus (brought on by ample rain), people tend to treat each other more fairly and are at peace with one another versus times of austerity and famine when people compete with each other for limited resources.

Some Jews have a custom to greet others on the first night of Rosh Hashanah with the words “Le’shanah tova tei’katev ve’tei’chatem le’alter le’chaim tovim u’le’shalom.

God wanted to establish the principle that children are not the property of their parents.

The computations of the sofrim were not restricted to gematria alone. There are myriads of number-related secrets in the Torah.

I take umbrage with the perspective that this is a "woman's holiday."

It is hard to believe that Elul is upon us and that the Day of Judgment is only one month away. In a short 30 days we must face our Creator and have our deeds evaluated in the hopes of a receiving a merciful blessing for a good and healthy year. We spend the month of Elul focused on repentance, and we learn the holy books of mussar to inspire us to grow and change.

We must realize how much we are lacking in our lives as a result of not having the Bais HaMikdash.

QUESTION: In my wife's family, women count Sefirat Haomer. This is something that I have not seen in my own family, although they are quite observant. As a newly married couple, we are quite confused.Please discuss this matter and explain.No name pleaseToronto, Ontario

The night of Purim should not be the first time that one is hearing the story of the Megillah. Reading it in public is intended to publicize the miracles that Hashem performed.

It’s possible that this body of water actually does not have its own name and is identified instead by the most prominent city on its banks.

Shimon HaTzaddik likely spent a lifetime educating the masses, yet Pirkei Avos contains just one mishnah that records his teachings.