Ask yourfself: Is it well with you? with your family? with your community?
Is the hiddur to give a loan at the end of the Shmitta year in order to release that which he has loaned his neighbor a proper hiddur ?
The Tanya compacts four millennia of Jewish wisdom to answer the great personal and existential questions of life.
Of course they do, but do they love them enough to do what is really best for them?
Two pieces of advice, one from a queen.
Israel's first Chief Rabbi: Is this mitsva purely theoretical or does it have a deeper purpose?
Descriptions of God that will soon be said on Rosh Hashana are in terms of His Kingdom. What is it that this concept adds to humankind?
Commentators on this mitzva, ‘It follows, that the guard rail is in reality the guardian of the house, that it should remain in his hands!.’
Why is the mitzvah to fence in a roof the one that the Torah emphasizes when it talks about building a new home?
The Torah presumes that in spite of all of its warnings, commandments and values, human beings, good decent people, fall prey to weaknesses,
The epic story of a Gadol Hador who worked to open a yeshiva in Eretz Yisrael and was in close contact with the Torah luminaries there.
There are mitzvas which, by their nature, no one can plan to do. Perhaps God sends these opportunities to those who look for mitzvot to do.
Young Israeli Torah scholars on the issue of the beautiful female captive, the,eshet yefat toar. A decree from God or a life prescription?
He who cannot state proudly that he is one of Hashem’s chosen nation, can be Jewish but is far from being a Jew.
Early on, Rabbi Kook saw the poor level of Torah education at the Moshavot..Zealots prevented changing that, and many other things.
Halakha has dynamic contract doctrines with deep systemic ambiguities or loopholes– even in areas that impact ritual or family law.
The mamzer is fully a Jew; obligated in all mitzvoth. But the spiritual consequences of his birth are profound.
The story of one of those who look like regular people, but turn out to be angels who take advantage of every second of their lives
The attack on a Chabad hassid in Tel Aviv is not the face of this land. full of warm Jewish souls who yearn for a connection to tradition.
Jewish men and women have in all ages been ready to lay down their lives in its observance. Why?
The Talmud teaches that one who does not identify with the community’s suffering will also be excluded from their eventual consolation.
Israel's first Chief Rabbi on self control.
The day I asked: Why wasn’t Rav Kook or his Torah ever quoted, mentioned or referenced?
The real inspiration and power for the court comes from the holy city of Jerusalem and the Temple. This helps the judges stick to the truth.
We are each expected to exercise judgement and restraint at our six gate points, the eyes, ears, nose and mouth. G-d is with us to help.
Iran/Persia, the hostile Ishmaelic state will go the way of Achashverosh and Haman. How Hashem will do it makes for fascinating theories.
Judaism is all about growing through learning, searching and asking - knowing more, not knowing less! How does that fit with being 'simple'?
The first day of school, the first week of Elul, and how we can work on the road leading from our head to our hearts and tongues.
The forest always trumps the trees in the Jewish view of law and halakhic life, but not in everything else.
There are four components of governance and guidance in the parasha. How are we doing?
Of course we have seen a righteous man forsaken, so what do those words in Birkat Hamazon mean? The Chatam Sofer enlightens us.
As Rashi noted, the taste of the tree and the taste of its fruit were to be one. Our families, our children, are recognizable as ours.
Torah from young scholars: Land theft in Eretz Yisrael is a more serious offense, since it is the theft of an absolute right of ownership.
Giving ma’aser kesafim, a tenth of one’s income, to charity, is the key to wealth
Wake up from your work week, hard as it may be. It takes just one step, that step from everyday life into shul.
The Tanya compacts four millennia of Jewish wisdom to answer the great personal and existential questions of life.
The iconic leader of religious Zionism who was Israel's first Chief Rabbi, was a Torah giant even as a young man.
Religious IDF soldiers have been vilified for refusing to attend performances in which women singers appear. What is the issue?
Gedolim, like Rav Kook, with whom Rav Hutner connected in the Land of Israel, were born in Eastern Europe. Part IV of a series.
Every Jew has a safe space to which they can retreat. A Rosh Chodesh essay for the month of mercy and forgiveness.
The mourning required during Tammuz and Av was for the physical exile and will end through a physical act of return.
Torah Commentators expound on the way that the mitzvahs can be a blessing or a curse.
Israel's first Chief Rabbi: The essence of the Torah’s wisdom is the inner truth of a united reality. Where is this revealed? In the Land.
There are many proofs that God exists, but I will report on a particular one that caught my attention, and its relation to the present..
How are the Jewish People supposed to know that a false prophet is a test, if we don't have the tools to cope with the situation?
Much of what we see as axiomatic has been discarded in today's society:marriage, two genders, individuality, even stealing is condoned.
The word re’ah which means “see” is the key word in the parsha. This entails a vision for the future and its new demands in Eretz Yisrael.
The Prophet Haggai’s words about the Beit Hamikdash speak to us even as they did to the Jews in Israel of his generation:
When you rejoice before Hashem, you must rejoice with those who are needy and dependent.
The Tanya compacts four millennia of Jewish wisdom to answer the great personal and existential questions of life.
Maintaining the Land of Israel is not simply a matter of fulfilling the mitzva, but a basic element of Jewish life.
Three mnemonics filled with messages for the word Elul.
Vignettes: Ishay Ribo responds to questions, Rav Shalom Cohen zts"l's message, the power of Shabbat songs and showing respect for others.
Blessings over seeing certain phenomema are said after a lapse of 30 days. One example of the halakhot in the article below.
Ask the rabbi: Surnames, walking aftere G-d, .blessings and curses.
Daily, we literally daven for vengeance on our enemies, ingathering of the Jews to Eretz Yisrael and for the Davidic dynasty. Do we mean it?
Smile at a stranger and you just may change a life - or save one..
Six historical incidences seem to have no connection but they possess a common denominator.
Israel's first Chief Rabbi: Why does the halakha have animals served before hunans?
