Judaism

Shofar; a meditation

The mitzvah is to hear, not to do. Listen to what is inside you.

'One thing I ask of Hashem' - the one thing He asks of us

What could Hashem need of us?

Rosh Hashannah that falls on Shabbat

When Rosh Hashannah falls on Shabbat, one should ideally complete the third Shabbat meal three hours before sunset.

Who by fire, who by water…

"And repentance and prayer and charity reverse the evil of the decree”.

Just look around and it's already the New Year

Remember that Rabbi Akiva smiled when he saw the ruins of the Temple Mount? Do you remember why?

The cantor's prayer

The moving cantor's prayer, the doubter's prayer. And the call to teshuva.

Kindness makes the world go around

In tribute to Alvin Gordon z"l, a man of chesed and love for Torah and his fellow man.

The Rebbe's message about the last two mitzvas in the Torah

While the Rebbe knew there would be a time that he would no longer be physically with us, he focused on this message as a central one.

Rabbi Samson R. Hirsch on Rosh Hashanah: Facts, not feelings

The High Holy Days aren’t about cheap sentimentality.

The Shidduch Crisis: Elevating the status of the "Working Boy"

The American Yeshiva Community educates its young women to seek only full time learning mates, and the field narrows to nothing.

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.

$Weekly Tanya video\lecture: The Holy Epistle$

Last Testament of Rabbi Ben-Zion Uziel: Lessons for Generations

He represented the Torah and all Jewry with honor, great wisdom and modesty.

New video:Why a baal teshuva is on a higher level than a tzaddik

In a newly published video, the Rav delves into the secret of the baal teshuva's elevated status before God.

And when the leader's time is ended...

Sensitivity to life's passages is seen in the Torah when it tells us about the Levites. Moshe Rabbeinu's farewell is a portrait of aging.

Power of positive language: emotions for The Days of Awe

Positivity is central to Jewish life and liturgy. A study comparing religious texts of major religions found Judaism the most positive.

Nitzavim: Dances of Teshuvah in Poriah

Israel's first Chief Rabbi: "Guard your pinteleh Yid"- your spark of yiddishkeit.

Talking Parsha

Nitzavim Vayelech: What's hidden is only for God??

Why does Moshe posit that the surrounding nations will question, while Am Yisrael do not? And what does, 'the concealed is for G-d,' mean?

Why are we here?

The High Holidays as the language of love.

The Bible at Work (Vayelech):What kind of manager should you be?

“In matters of style, swim with the current; in matters of principle, stand like a rock.” --Thomas Jefferson

Nitzavim Vayelach: End of the Hakhel

On this hakhel Shabbat, let’s gather with others in genuine unity and friendship.

Rabbi Samson R. Hirsch on the parsha: Breathing isn’t enough

Life is more than the absence of death.

Rosh Hashannah: Two steps to achievable teshuva

There are two great barriers to teshuva. They are surmountable.

Nitzavim: You shall choose life

As we read our Parasha approaching the Day of Judgement, it guides us as to the ‘life’ for which we should fervently plead, on that Day.

OTD challenges can study the Baal Teshuva Movement

Where is the new outreach/inreach initiative by Belz heading?

How do some people justify antisemitism?

Time and time again people have said that the Jews themselves cause antisemitism. Do they?

Community Rabbis without pay, and decent salaries for teachers

A community rabbi should ideally receive a salary, but he can teach Torah and serve free of charge. Kudos for teachers'.salary raise.

Television in the home

What is wrong with tv - and is gambling a sin?

I am my Beloved’s and My Beloved is Mine

The Sara Litton z”l Monthly Emunah Essay.

Make the right choice

Rosh Hashannah takes place not on the first day of creation, but on the sixth day, when man was created.

Why Moses was not buried in Eretz Yisrael

Why was Yosef privileged to be buried in the Land of Israel and Moshe Rabeinu was not privileged?

Growing joy

Joy appears from giving. The first fruits narrative shows it.

On the definition of Jewish Nationhood

When the Klausenburger Rebbe demanded the curses be read aloud.

Past, present and future - which is most significant?

Which has permanent reality?

Talking Parsha - Ki Tavo:

Did Am Yisrael not understand??

Moshe discusses the miracles witnessed yet asserts that Hashem did not grant them the heart to comprehend and the eyes to perceive.

Ki Tavo: Remembering to bless God

Israel's first Chief Rabbi: What is the purpose of all of these blessings the rabbis told us to recite?

The Torah of Leadership: Climb every mountain

Right before the tribes were to break up and climb their respective mountains, the Israelites heard a surprising announcement.

Ki Tavo: Two desires

What does it mean, did I not really want what I thought I wanted?

Ki Tavo: A tale of two declarations

Two haggadot, two promises. Commentators weigh in on the differences and similarities.

The Parsha and Current Events: Hungry for geula?

The first time Johnny calls you “dirty Jew” - shame on Johnny; the second time - shame on you!!

Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch on the parsha: Are we clannish?

Our very first task upon entering the Promised Land involved outreach to non-Jews.

The Bible at work: Ki Tavo - "So, tell me about yourself"

“My father was a fugitive Aramean"

Weekly Tanya lecture/video: The Holy Epistle

Tanya gives perspective on life.

Should there be a synagogue for he nonreligious?

Can a house of worship be anything other than religious?

Is eating trans-fat prohibited?

Is trans-fat, which has been proven to be harmful and dangerous and has been banned in many countries, prohibited according to halakha?

The Passing of a chief disciple of Rav Yitzchok Hutner

Rav Schechter's passing is not just the changing of an era but is the closing of an era. Tribute to an inspiring leader and Talmid Chacham.

A message no one wants to hear

There are people with sensitive and high-powered souls who instinctively feel the emptiness of Judaism in gentile lands.

An Elul Insight: Explaining away anger and arrogance

What is the cause of two traits that we see so often and must try to overcome?

Ki Teitzei: Waging war

Israel's first Chief Rabbi: Why does Jewish law include such concepts as compulsory and optional wars?

The Parsha at work: "Can't ignore it!": Help your colleagues!

“No one is useless in this world who lightens the burdens of another.” ― Charles Dickens

Eretz Yisrael in the Parasha: Redeeming Zion by justice

Younr religioius Zionist Torah scholars study the connections between the parasha and the Land of Israel.

Talking Parsha - Ki Teitzei: Zachor? Here? Now??

The commandment to both remember and erase raises an immediate paradox. How can one remember while simultaneously erasing?

Can you forgive your child?

How do you deal with children who put you through the wringer?

'Go out to war against your enemy,,,;

Commentaries weigh in on how waging war against enemies is what is ‘upright in the eyes of Hashem’.

Hanging from a tall tree

The punishment of the sinner is not done out of personal hatred.

The laws of “Kilei Hakerem” (Crops Grown in a vineyard)

Why is the prohibition of Kilei hakerem so severe? What precisely is prohibited?

Elul: We can have hope in the future!

What the line "have hope in Hashem" in the last verse of the psalm we say during this period means.

Rabbi Samson Refael Hirsch on the parsha: Why Is she stoned?

Marriage is much more than a physical union.

The Parsha and Current Events: What world did Hashem create?

Life is indeed a very narrow slippery bridge whose floor is broken, but Hashem provided the Jewish nation with protective side rails.

Tanya/ Iggeres Ha’Kodesh - The Holy Epistle vudei/lecture