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MainOpEds Rabbi Nachman Kahana The COVID-19 plague, Pesach and Medinat YisraelIn light of Hashem’s agreement to act with partiality towards the Jewish Nation, why are we also suffering from the plague like the other nations? Shabbat HaGadol, Parashat Tsav: Our Father in heaven and usPicture a scenario where a person falls overboard and a sailor throws him a life jacket saying, “dope, put it on now”, and the man in the water screams back, “talk nice to me!” Come home, now! Paradise lostThe parasha and current events. Catastrophe or Redemption?Three messages for the current world situation. Coronavirus and the Jewish problemSuddenly, the gates to Israel are closed to world Jewry because of an epidemic. Tetzave-Zachor: The luxury of knowingThe parsha and current events: This Shabbat - Shabbat Zachor, we will read about the irrational, inborn hatred of Amalek towards the Jews. There is no meeting ground with Amalek that could even begin a rational discussion to alleviate the hate. Declining $20,000 of Jewish moneyThe parasha connected to current events. The Parsha and Current Events: When to pass the buckIf caught with your hand in the cookie jar, take it like a man). However, in our parasha Moshe passes the buck on to Hashem not just once, but twice. The Parsha and Current Events: Rejecting those who come bearing giftsIt is not only the Greeks whose gifts wrought damage. The Parsha and Current Events: When anger is appropriateWe get angry infrequently, even when it is justified. We get angry when we are personally insulted but keep our “cool” in the face of crimes against Yiddishkeit.The Parsha and Current Events: An angel to guard youSurrounding Eretz Yisrael are myriads of God’s angels protecting the righteous of the land. The Parsha and Current Events: Is the malady incurable?Prior to a significant volcanic eruption or earthquake, warning signs appear to those who wish to recognize them and then choose to distance themselves as far as possible from the impending disaster. Nu? The Parsha and Current Events: Regime change of extreme proportionsIn the rating of Jewish achievement, a wise man is superior to a prophet. Parashat Vayishlach and preparing for HanukkahYaakov did in fact remain alone. The “man” who wrestled with him was none other than the inner spirit of Yaakov himself, that spirit that established the Jewish State despite Esau's murderous machinations. The Parsha and Current Events: Rivka’s great secretWhy didn’t Rivka seek advice from the greatest spiritual figure of her generation, her husband Yitzchak? And why did she act to divert her husband’s blessings? Where is the Avraham Avinu of our time?Avraham challenged the rights of countless peoples who considered themselves owners of these lands by virtue of conquest and possession. The Parsha and current events: Four eulogiesRabin z"l was not Achav and my brother Meir Hy"d was not Yoshiyahu, but in their lives we can identify patterns resembling those of the two kings. The Parsha and Current Events: Clearing the dead woodIt appears to me that we are reliving the time of Gideon, when there is too much “dead wood” resisting and delaying our advance to the next stage of redemption. The Parsha and Current Events: Noach’s WorldThe difference between Noach, righteous in his generation, and Avraham, righteous in every generation, is reflected in the breaking point. Which kind are we? The Parsha and Current Events: ConnectionsWhat is so difficult about ending the Sukkot holiday? The Parsha and current events: Where is the Avraham of our generation?Parashat Nitzavim: The last Shabbat of the year 5779. Tibi and Rivlin, Ephron and Abraham - the contrast is telling..Navigating with our periscopeThe parasha and current events. The Parasha and current eventsHow can an innocent congregant know what is in the heart of his religious mentor?Re'eh: Open your eyes and see!If one has “Jewish eyes” he will discern that the double standard applied to the Jews is a blessing in disguise! The Parsha and Current Events: Return from the Land of the EnemyMother Rachel is waiting... Vaetchanan, Shabbat Nachamu, 15th of Menachem Av: Time for a miracleThe parasha and current events as three important dates in the Jewish calendar coincide.Dvarim and looking beyond the 9th of AvHashem is behind the scene advancing His own agenda for the redemption of Am Yisrael. The Parsha and Current Events: We were as dreamersJust look at recent history as evidence of the tumultuous and restless nature of the Jewish people. The Parsha and Current Events: The Jewish State of the MashiachCould this be the turning point at which Hashem will usher in a new era leading up to the long-awaited final redemption of our nation? Two evil Bil"am forces threaten the Jewish nation todayThe parasha and current events:By the legal recognition of perversity, the hands of the clock to gentile obliteration have edged one minute closer to midnight Chukat: Dirtying one's hands in the service of HashemHow strange that the people who are engaged in the purification of others become themselves impure! A letter to HashemHashem, there are two points I humbly wish to raise; but since You know my thoughts even before I, You know that they are in fact one point. There is no replacement for the Torah or the Land of IsraelThe parsha and current events. Blessings from ZionI wonder who is more culpable: the uneducated Jew who is not convinced that G-d is the source of halacha, or the adherents to the chareidi outlook that recognizes Hashem but denies his day to day involvement in the ups and downs of the Jewish nation. The day the Old City gates spokeIn honor of the 52nd year of the reunification of Jerusalem - Yom Yerushalayim. The Parsha and Current Events: The US Military is in serious troubleThis dire situation was caused by President Obama who withheld huge sums of money from the military. Modern-day spiritual role modelsThe blood of over 25,000 soldiers and civilians of Eretz Yisrael, covers our flag and is also the background “music” of our anthem. One who does not feel the sanctity of the flag and the anthem has fallen victim to the galut.A vow fulfilledHe said: “Now that Hashem has granted me the gift of leaving the “Holy of Holies” - the IDF - whole in body, soul and mind, I will donate a Sefer Torah to a worthy place”.The Master of human events vs. Free WillSometimes events are engineered so that Free Will is subject to Hashem's agenda. A7 Exclusive: My last day in galut and my arrival in IsraelExclusive excerpt from the writer's upcoming biography - a thought provoking Pesach article. Seder and HesderUneven distribution of historic responsibility. How does one replace the irreplaceable?Where did Aharon and Yehoshua find the inner strength to overcome their great burdens, and complete their tasks? Where did the Jews find the strength to build a country after the Shoah? An event of heroic proportionsAvraham entered into a treaty in the name of all his future offspring. Who is the third Amalek?How was it possible that in one moment everything changed, from being fellow citizens totally accepted in Persian society to suddenly becoming enemies of the State who have to be eliminated? Look at Europe and see. We are slow learners. How can you love your brother as yourself?How can one bring himself to this sublime degree of altruism? And why does this mitzva end with the words “I am Hashem?" Tetzaveh and preparation for PurimThe Parsha and Current Events series: Purim is not an isolated event in Jewish history. It has repeated itself in almost every generation, with, of course, a change of language.The parsha and current events: My extraordinary uncle and auntThey lived in very different times and environments with about a 350-year separation; nevertheless, both had very similar ideals, values and similar unhappy fates. Yitro: Joyfully bringing the Shechinah homeWhat it does not say in the Ten Commandments. Chamushim: Winnowing out the chaffThe parasha and current events. What is the major dividing line within the Jewish people today?The parsha as reflected in history and current events. Frogs in the ovenAre you a couch frog who lives a quiet life or a frog that obeys G-d's command and jumps into the heat? From Moses to Moshe RabbeinuWhat emerges from the text is that Moshe had been unaware that the Jews were being cruelly enslaved, and that on a daily basis many were being beaten and killed. The Parsha and Current Events: Irrelevance is IrreverenceRabbi Merav spoke of the last Shabbat meal before Yosef’s murder. “I asked the family that each one tell one thing for which he or she is thankful to Hashem. Yosef said “I am thankful to Hashem for giving me the merit to protect Am Yisrael”.Still fighting for our survivalThe chosen of Hashem reentered the land, not by a "dunam here and dunam there," but in the language of strength that the gentiles understood. And they have needed that G-d given strength ever since. |
