Judaism

Nitzavim-VaYeilech:

The Torah is a song - Are we listening?

Have we really been listening to the song? Have we allowed the Torah to speak to us again?

Nitzavim-VaYeilech:

Call of the Shofar

All the prophecies of the prophets are written in condensed form in this Torah portion. All the descriptions in the portion are, in fact, descriptions of the Mashiach.

Matan Emunah Essay:

The letter Yud

The yud represents the divine spark of a yid, of every Jew - It represents our holy soul, eternally, silently, and valiantly reaching upwards.

A New Year message from the OU:

Praying for you in the month of Elul

May this be a year in which our 'ani' expands until another Jew’s hopes become our hopes, another Jew’s pain becomes our pain, and another Jew’s joy becomes our joy.

Nitzavim-VaYeilech:

Coming home is only the beginning

Nitzavim promises that G-d will bring us back. VaYelech tells Yehoshua that he must lead the people in taking possession of the Land - and that is in our hands.

Nitzavim-VaYeilech:

All for one and one for all

Upon entering the Land of Israel, we rose to a higher level. We went from a level in which every Jew is judged individually for his thoughts and actions to a level in which the individual takes responsibility for all of Israel.

Nitzavim-VaYeilech:

Never lose hope

“Even if a person has been a sinner all his life and does Teshuva at the end, it is effective." (Rambam, Hilchot Teshuva 2:1)

Nitzavim-VaYeilech:

The Covenant of guarantee-ship

Since Hashem already entered into a covenant with them at Har Sinai, what need was there to enter into a further covenant with them, here?

Watch:

Weekly Tanya video/lecture: The Holy Epistle

The Tanya compacts four millennia of Jewish wisdom to answer the great personal and existential questions of life. It has revolutionized the way we think about G -d the human soul, the world and our place in it.

The Tipping Point:

When one becomes enough

We may never know how close the balance is to its tipping point, or the deed that changes everything. But that uncertainty is precisely what gives every choice its urgency.

Revivim:

The purpose of Tithes

Ma’aser Kesafim (tithing money) is the modern equivalent of the tithes, priestly gifts, and gifts to the poor that were given from the produce of the fields and from livestock and its primary purpose today is to support teachers of Torah in Israel and help the poor.

Rosh Hashanah in the Land of Israel

One who observes carefully can see that God’s Kingship is being revealed more and more in our time.

For Elul:

Hashivenu

It is Elul. And the voice of prayer merges with the early morning sound of a shofar, echoes in the sound of the bird singing on my porch rail this morning.

Israel's 1st Chief Rabbi:

Ki Tavo: Tithing in the proper order

When we rush to address problems before their time, even good intentions can produce harmful results and prevent much good.

Parashat Ki Tavo:

Two mountains. One altar

A Jew remains responsible for another Jew even when they are not standing on the same mountain.

Who do you think you are?

The one thing new money cannot buy is old money, so the people at an 1897 gala rented someone else’s past for the evening. It was ancestry as wishful thinking. Which brings me to the opening of Parshat Ki Tavo - the exact opposite.

Dvar Haftorah:

Mashiach can come today

The past tells us only how long we have already waited. It cannot tell us how quickly things may change.

Rabbi YY Jacobson:

Do I have to tell Him?

When G-d wants you to compliment yourself

First fruits and the Torah’s lesson of gratitude

The mitzvah of bringing the first fruits teaches that true gratitude is more than a feeling - it requires memory, recognition, and action.

Office of the UK Chief Rabbi:

Parashat Ki Tavo: Life in the world to come

Good people leave behind an outstanding legacy through others, and future generations benefit from the example that has been set.

Wisdom and desire

Which rules your life?

Thanking G-d

We must not ignore the goodness, kindnesses, miracles, and wonders that the Lord, Blessed be He, performs for us day after day.

Parashat Ki Tavo:

They hate us for good reason

I know the title of this article will trigger almost every Jew and please every antisemite. But I say to both of you, don’t judge an article by its title. Read on and see what I mean.

What should we do to confuse the Satan?

The nisayon changes. The Torah does not.

Parashat Ki Tavo:

Gratitude has a memory

The farmer does not simply bring his fruit to Jerusalem. He tells a story.

Parashat Ki Tavo:

The fifth 'language of Redemption'

There are four languages of the redemption promised by Hashem, - for which, the four glasses of wine are drunk at the Seder - but there is a fifth promise as well. Which promise is that?

Parashat Ki Tavo:

Telling G-d what to do

We are not the givers, but are merely transferring what Hashem has allotted. Happy is the one who has the merit to serve as Hashem’s delivery person.

Revivim: For the new school year

The great mission of Torah teachers

The study of Torah, through which the spiritual world is sustained, is carried out by Torah scholars and by all Jews who set aside regular times for Torah study.

Personal and national teshuva

While Rabbi Kook emphasizes that the teshuva of the Jewish People and a return to the Torah go hand-in-hand, he indicates that a preliminary stage of national revival will begin this spiritual awakening.

The Illusion of the jungle:

The quantum physics of Hasidic Oneness

Modern culture remains trapped in a paradigm of conflict, viewing human interaction as a zero-sum struggle driven by isolation and survival. This essay demonstrates that physical separation is an illusion, offering a scientific and spiritual framework for radical empathy and personal transformation.

For Elul:

Before we begin again

Yerach Yamim - A time to bring the past to a close.

Dvar Torah for Noahides:

Forty-four years and one verse

An experience is also a picture. You stand before it and gaze back at it, and the date is in the past.

Personal Growth series:

The model and first principle for character development

How are we to determine the ideal forms of behavior?

Israel's 1st Chief Rabbi:

Ki Teitzei: Drafting Yeshiva students

My father, the Rav HaNazir, and Rav Tzvi Yehudah were of the opinion that everyone is obligated to go out and fight. This was a milhemet mitzvah, a compulsory war, in which all are expected to participate.

Office of the UK Chief Rabbi:

Don’t be like an Ammonite or a Moabite:

What was wrong with the Moabites and the Ammonites?

Dvar Haftorah - Parashat Ki Teitze

The answer to destruction

Isaiah’s message was one of consolation, but also of responsibility.

Parashat Ki Teitze:

A nation of one

We are not just a united nation. We are a nation of one, so interconnected that we are like a single person. A look at the parasha's topics shows it.

Confronting the pain:

Can you forgive your child?

Dealing with children who derail your life.

Parashat Ki Teitze:

The yetse hara conundrum

The manner in which we confront the wiles of the yetser ha’ra in its efforts to subvert our avodat Hashem, is the true measure of our service of our Creator.

A Jewish soul's journey from in the army to at home

From war and the struggle with the enemy to marriage, education and mutual responsibility: a journey through the three circles of the Jewish soul.

Parashat Ki Teitze:

When peace breeds complacency

The Torah's lesson is one Israel learned tragically on October 7: Do not mistake quiet for a permanent change in the intentions of those who wish us harm.

A Wake-Up Call:

Rethinking the Western Wall

Where is the real Western Wall?

Parashat Ki Teitze:

All in the Family

Because of the closeness to his family, a person ometimes allows himself to speak ill of his wife, husband, children, uncles, and other relatives. This is an unfortunate error.

Parashat Ki Teitze:

The favors of bad people

It is painful to note that, today, the degree of assimilation in the USA is such that, in the not distant future, the once robust American Jewish community will be a shell of its former self.

The Shofar's call

The Tur on the Laws of Rosh Hashanah wrote: "Therefore the Sages established that the shofar should be blown on the first day of Elul every year and all through the month..."

Parashat Ki Teitze:

Protecting the home

Note: The parapet around the roof of a house protects the house. “You shall not place blood in your house": inside the house - inside the national home - must be a safe place.

The ways of Tzaddikim

Man is a soul sent into the world to serve God. Therefore, all of his powers are necessarily enlisted in this plan.

New AI platform brings Jewish tradition into the digital age

A new AI-powered platform launched in Savyon aims to make Jewish law, tradition and daily practices accessible worldwide, while connecting users with more than 1,000 rabbis.

The haredi public and I - a religious Zionist

Perhaps we should take a moment to examine the substance of the dispute between us, and perhaps then we will know how, at the very least, not to serve as oil on the fire.

Israel's 1st Chief Rabbi:

Food for thought

Why are we allowed to kill animals for food?

The High Holidays as the Language of Love

The 5-Step Program of Spiritual Courtship, Engagement, Marriage, Honeymoon, and Real Life.

Watch:

Tanya/ Iggeres Ha’Kodesh - The Holy Epistle

The Tanya compacts four millennia of Jewish wisdom to answer the great personal and existential questions of life. It has revolutionized the way we think about G -d the human soul, the world and our place in it.

The three words my son refused to whisper

I heard my 11-year-old son Eli shouting across an otherwise tranquil resort pool: “AM YISRAEL CHAI!" Loudly, very loudly. And at first, I was worried.

Teshuvah and improving the world

The power of teshuvah is not limited, it encompasses every domain of life, that of the individual and that of civilization as a whole.

Same ma'akeh, different paths:

The forthcoming elections and the unity of Am Yisrael

A house can contain people who are different from one another, each with his own character and his own way, and yet they are all living under the same roof. That is the picture we should have of Am Yisrael.

For 3rd of Elul yahrzeit:

Rabbi Avraham HaCohen Kook ZT"L and the Balfour Declaration

Excerpted from the biography “Above the Stream" by Tzvi Fishman,