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Dr. Elliot Resnick

News and updates about Dr. Elliot Resnick

Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch: Yitro

Rendering yourself non-existent

Don’t smother the unique characteristics with which Hashem blessed you.

Rendering yourself non-existent

Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch:

Parashat Bo: How free were we?

Matzah reminds us that we left Egypt thanks to G-d’s grace alone.

Parashat Bo: How free were we?

Rav Samson Raphael Hirsch on the parsha

Vayechi: The road to the heart

Yosef targeted his brothers' feelings by appealing to their minds.

Vayechi: The road to the heart

Rabbi Shimshon Refael Hirsch:

Vayigash: Yaakov's strange answer

G-d wants us to accomplish, not just exist.

Vayigash: Yaakov's strange answer

Rabbi Shimshon Refael Hirsch:

Miketz: Rejoicing in another's happiness

Pity comes naturally; sympathy doesn't.

Miketz: Rejoicing in another's happiness

Rabbi Shimshon Refael Hirsch: Vayeshev

Why Shechem?

Equality before G-d is supposed to govern human society.

Why Shechem?

Rabbi Shimshon Refael Hirsch:

Vayishlach: Won't you be my neighbor?

Esav sought to escape Yaakov's influence.

Vayishlach: Won't you be my neighbor?

Rabbi Shimshon Refael Hirsch:

Vayetze: G-d loves, and demands

G-d is our father… and our lawgiver.

Vayetze: G-d loves, and demands

Rabbi Shimshon Refael Hirsch:

Toldot: What was Rivkah thinking?

Even if she could fool Yitzchak, there's no fooling G-d.

Toldot: What was Rivkah thinking?

Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch: Chayei Sarah

Did Avraham have a daughter?

If he did, what happened to her?

Did Avraham have a daughter?

Rabbi Shimshon Refael Hirsch:

Vayera: The first act of the first Jew

Avraham rushed to serve pagan guests.

Vayera: The first act of the first Jew

Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch:

Lech Lecha: Sarah’s miscalculation

Avraham’s spirit elevated Hagar into an entirely different person.

Lech Lecha: Sarah’s miscalculation

Rabbi Shimshon Refael Hirsch:

Noach: Can ‘man’ mean ‘woman’?

A functioning society is impossible without objective language.

Noach: Can ‘man’ mean ‘woman’?

Rabbi Shimshon Refael Hirsch:

Bereishit: G-d’s ‘personality’

Imparting pure philosophical truth isn’t the Torah’s primary aim.

Bereishit: G-d’s ‘personality’

Rabbi Shimshon Refael Hirsch:

V’zot Habrachah: Exiting the stage

We all have a role to play in the divine plan.

V’zot Habrachah: Exiting the stage

Rabbi Shimshon Refael Hirsch:

Haazinu: Looking for an excuse

Denying religious truth is often convenient.

Haazinu: Looking for an excuse

Rabbi Shimshon Refael Hirsch on Ki Tavo:

You can’t pick and choose

One category of sin isn’t “better” than another.

You can’t pick and choose

Rabbi Shimshon Refael Hirsch:

Ki Tetze: Female power

The fate of a nation rests on its mothers.

Ki Tetze: Female power

Rabbi Shimshon Refael Hirsch:

Shoftim: What’s wrong with magic?

Our actions – not “black arts” – determine our future.

Shoftim: What’s wrong with magic?

Rabbi Shimshon Refael Hirsch:

Re’eh: Between the head and the heart

Truth, not feelings, must govern our actions.

Re’eh: Between the head and the heart

Rabbi Shimshon Refael Hirsch:

Ekev: G-d provides

Supporting a family is no excuse for violating the Torah’s commands.

Ekev: G-d provides

Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch:

Vaetchanan: Black and white

Truth isn’t equivocal, and we dare not present it as such.

Vaetchanan: Black and white

Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch:

Matos-Maasei: Why Is Tumah Bad?

Our body must ultimately succumb to nature; not so our soul.

Matos-Maasei: Why Is Tumah Bad?

Rabbi Shimshon Refael Hirsch:

Parashat Pinchas: Speak up!

Hashem wants us to defend His honor.

Parashat Pinchas: Speak up!

Rabbi Shimshon Refael Hirsch:

Balak: Our moral core

Bilaam couldn’t harm us, but our own misbehavior did.

Balak: Our moral core

Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch:

Korach: Sleep on it

Moshe hoped Korach’s men would reconsider if given time to reflect.

Korach: Sleep on it

Rabbi Shimshon Raphael Hirsch:

Shelach: Jewish giants

The physical world may affect our spiritual nature more than we realize.

Shelach: Jewish giants

Rabbi Shimshon Raphael Hirsch:

Behaalotcha: Patience is a virtue

Our ancestors didn’t know their arrival and departure dates.

Behaalotcha: Patience is a virtue

Rabbi Shimshon Refael Hirsch:

Naso: Chinuch and chenek

Why are the Hebrew words for education and strangulation connected?

Naso: Chinuch and chenek

Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch:

Bamidbar: She’s family

In Jewish law, a maidservant isn’t a lowly slave.

Bamidbar: She’s family

Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch:

Bechukotai: Is Jew-hatred immutable?

Hashem promised us three periods of exile – each one better than the next.

Bechukotai: Is Jew-hatred immutable?

Israel's government needs roaring lions

The existing parties won’t save Israel. The country needs roaring lions, and it needs to find them. Here's how. Op-ed.

Israel's government needs roaring lions

Rabbi Shimshon Refael Hirsch:

Parshat Behar: Come home

Why did Yericho’s walls crumble to the ground?

Parshat Behar: Come home

Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch:

Emor: Time to remember G-d

On Sukkot, both nature and man recede into the background.

Emor: Time to remember G-d

Rabbi Shimshon Refael Hirsch:

Parashat Kedoshim: How can you love someone like yourself?

The Torah doesn’t demand the impossible.

Parashat Kedoshim: How can you love someone like yourself?

Rabbi Hirsch on the parsha: Put on your weekday clothes with care

Torah truth must permeate a person’s mundane life.

Rabbi Hirsch on the parsha: Put on your weekday clothes with care

Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch on the parsha: Sharing isn’t optional

Private property comes with responsibilities – to others.

Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch on the parsha: Sharing isn’t optional

Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch on the parsha: Tzaraas isn’t leprosy

The laws of tzaraas are incomprehensible if we adopt the general translation.

Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch on the parsha: Tzaraas isn’t leprosy

Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch on the parsha: ‘Progress’ in Judaism

The Prophetic Books are not more “ethical” than the Pentateuch.

Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch on the parsha: ‘Progress’ in Judaism

Should we have canceled Candace Owens?

Every statement she’s made regarding Israel can be explained without assuming anti-Semitism on her part. Opinion.

Should we have canceled Candace Owens?

Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch on the parsha: Do you care?

Animosity is often better than indifference.

Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch on the parsha: Do you care?

Rabbi Hirsch on the parsha: Enmeshed in darkness

Why couldn’t the Jews erect the Mishkan at night?

Rabbi Hirsch on the parsha: Enmeshed in darkness

Rabbi Hirsch on the parsha: Mirrors in the Mishkan

G-d wants us to sanctify the physical, not shun it.

Rabbi Hirsch on the parsha: Mirrors in the Mishkan

Rav Samson R. Hirsch on the parsha: Want to be free?

The Torah enables us to rise above the natural order.

Rav Samson R. Hirsch on the parsha: Want to be free?

Rabbi Samson R. Hirsch on the parsha: Hold its feet

The Jewish lamb is happy, joyful, and virile – not meek.

Rabbi Samson R. Hirsch on the parsha: Hold its feet

Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch on the parsha: 6 and 1

The menorah teaches us how to live our lives.

Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch on the parsha: 6 and 1

Rabbi Hirsch on the parsha: Did rabbis make it up?

An unusual law in Parshas Mishpatim makes the case for the divine authorship of the Torah.

Rabbi Hirsch on the parsha: Did rabbis make it up?

Rabbi Hirsch: Cardiac Jews, Orthopraxic Jews

Neither the heart nor the deed is sufficient. G-d wants both.

Rabbi Hirsch: Cardiac Jews, Orthopraxic Jews

Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch on the parsha: Year zero

We’re not supposed to start from scratch every generation.

Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch on the parsha: Year zero

Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch on the parsha: Speak up!

Tell your children what you believe and why.

Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch on the parsha: Speak up!

Rabbi Hirsch on the parsha: Religion isn’t a game

​​​​​​​Pharaoh didn’t take Moshe seriously because he didn’t take his own religion seriously.

Rabbi Hirsch on the parsha: Religion isn’t a game

Rabbi Samson R. Hirsch on the parsha: The secret world of fish

​​​​​​​Outsiders don’t see what happens beneath the surface.

Rabbi Samson R. Hirsch on the parsha: The secret world of fish

Rabbi S.R. Hirsch on the parsha: Should we pave our own path?

Individuality is valuable but only if the Torah lies at its core.

Rabbi S.R. Hirsch on the parsha: Should we pave our own path?

Rabbi Hirsch on the parsha:Is your wife on the same page as you?

Asnas came from a very different background than Yosef, but she embraced his vision.

Rabbi Hirsch on the parsha:Is your wife on the same page as you?

Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch on the parsha: Keep burning

Hashem wants every aspect of our life to be fuel for His fire.

Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch on the parsha: Keep burning

Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch: A recipe for peace of mind

A guilty conscience plagued Yaakov before meeting Esav.

Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch: A recipe for peace of mind

Stop worrying about Gazan civilians

One cannot find any moral hand-wringing among the classic Bible commentators when fighting the enemy..

Stop worrying about Gazan civilians

Rav Hirsch on the parsha: Don’t let the angels laugh at you

The solution is on earth, not in heaven.

Rav  Hirsch on the parsha: Don’t let the angels laugh at you

Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch on the parsha: Improper parenting

Yistchak and Rivkah raised Esav without regard to his nature.

Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch on the parsha: Improper parenting

Rav Samson R. Hirsch on the parsha: Are adolescents innocent?

They can be – if they follow Sarah and Rivkah’s example.

Rav Samson R. Hirsch on the parsha: Are adolescents innocent?