The Parsha in Chesed – If He Only Knew….
Efron's double speak (and double charge) is recorded forever.
Judaism (Page 70)
Talking Parsha - Chayei Sarah: Why did Eliezer even need a sign?
Abraham's servant Eliezer went to find a wife for Isaac. Why did Eliezer ask G-d for a sign? Why not ask where Abraham's family lives?
CHAYEI SARAH 5782
Abraham: Blessed with everything?
When Abraham was alive, he inspired people to see the world with clarity and return to a belief that all Hashem does is for the good.
CHAYEI SARAH 5782
The Parsha and Current Events: Faith and courage
Where is the Avraham of today who will stand up before the world as he did to the Hittites and declare that this land is our heritage?
CHAYEI SARAH 5782
Towards the downfall of the savage
The Torah tells us of Ishmael's propensity for bloodshed: "his hand against everyone and everyone’s hand against him.” Will it ever end?
CHAYEI SARAH 5782
Sarah, mother of the Jewish people
This article is dedicated to Sarah, in praise of her virtues and in honor of her memory.
CHAYEI SARAH 5782
The white beard
he beard is the only hair that grows vertically from above to below, which represents the flow of Divine energy into the world.
CHAYEI SARAH 5782
The final test
Why should Abraham purchase the burial cave for Sarah if G-d has already promised the land to him?
CHAYEI SARAH 5782
What is the "good life"?
Sarah has no illusions about the challenges she will face, having embarked with Abraham on the founding of the Jewish people.
Danger! Missionaries in your home!
Today, proselytizers have various internet tools - they don't have to come to the door or distribute pamphlets.
What would a religious run government of Israel be like?
Would such a government finally prioritize Israel’s Jewish character over its democratic one? And what else would it change?
Self-sacrifice for Torah
Where a deviation from the path of halakha may lead to the founding of an error, the truth must be asserted even at cost of self-sacrifice.
Weekly lecture/video: Tanya, the Epistle on Repentance
The Tanya compacts four millennia of Jewish wisdom to answer the great personal and existential questions of life.
For his first yahrzeit:
'How perfect were the Matriarchs and Patriarchs?' In memoriam
A deep and enlightening article that exemplifies the wisdom of the rabbi and mentor who passed away one year ago.
Murdered 31 years ago - but still my Rebbe
The best teacher is one who teaches with words followed by actions!
The chessed of Abraham - the chessed of the Creator
Only the capacity of the receptive vessel limits G-d’s abundance to His creatures..
Why did Hashem reveal his intent to destroy Sodom to Abraham?
In our generations there seems no one known to us who fits the criteria of an Avraham, a Moshe, a Shmuel to whom God would reveal his plans.
Office of the UK Chief Rabbi
Vayeira: True kindness has empathy at its heart
Avraham “rushed to the tent, to Sara,” and said,“Mahari!” – “Quick!” – We’ve got to get a meal going as soon as possible. Why the rush?
Israel's first Chief Rabbi:
Vayeira: The journey to Moriah
Rabbi Kook shows how the text hints at Abraham’s remarkable strength and composure as he readied himself to fulfill God’s command.
Parsha Vayera: Why was Sarah's laughter wrong and Avraham's not?
What's the difference between Sarah's laughter and Avraham's? Is laughing good or bad? And why is Yitzhak named after this laughter?
Weekly Torah Study: Vayera
Where would we fall on the scale of righteousness if put to a difficult test?
VAYERA 5782
Hineini - I am here!
Abraham's test and our future.
VAYERA 5782
Too Perfect?
I know of at least one person who worried about being too perfect. Our collective grandfather, Abraham.
Sarah's role in the Hebrew Mission
What challenges was our matriarch Sarah forced to overcome in order to play her part in establishing the Hebrew nation with Avraham?
The Parsha in Chesed - Parshat Vayera - They are Watching You
The chinuch of chesed, so ingrained within the family of Avraham, had the power to shape even those considered “less than perfect”.
VAYERA 5782
'And Hashem remembered Avraham' - and saved Lot?
Lot chose to live in Sodom, the by-word for wickedness, and the antithesis of all that Avraham had taught him. So why save him?
VAYERA 5782
How can one go to school to become a prophet?
Prophecy is one of the highest forms of communication with God. There were, in ancient times, schools that trained people to become prophets
The beginning of Jewish history
Abraham’s nation will be either like the stars shining in the darkness or else like the sand, down-trodden, and kicked aside by everyone.
Do you want to spend Shabbat Chayei Sarah in Hevron?
If you were thinking about making arrangements to spend that Shabbos in Hevron it might be too late - only 10,000 allowed. So visit anyway.
The Heter Mechira today
Despite Israel's flourishing economy, farmers cannot compete with growers who do not keep shmitta, thus for them it is a sha’at hadchak.
Weekly video\lecture: Tanya - the Epistle on Repentance
The Tanya compacts four millennia of Jewish wisdom to answer the great personal and existential questions of life.
For Cheshvan 11: Why is she called "our Mother Rachel?"
"There is something in the personality of our mother Rachel, in the story of her life, that says to us...'you can tell me everything'."
Israel's first Chief Rabbi:
Psalm 140: The Tzaddik and the Yashar
The difference between them concerns their atitude to contributing to the world's progress as well as to its spiritual level.
Office of the UK Chief Rabbi
Jewish history in a nutshell.
Two blessings that appear beside one another in Hashem's words to Avraham are a synopsis of what keeps happening to the Jewish people.
What does a baby's brit have to do with the Land of Israel?
Brit mila and Torah study are especially great mitzvot, therefore, dwelling within the Land is especially connected to them.
WARNING! Lech lecha!
A Jew cannot forge the same connection to Hashem in Ur Kasdim, Haran, Berlin, Brooklyn, Las Vegas, or Palm Beach, as in Eretz Yisrael.
Talking Parsha - Lech Lecha: Avraham can't find room for Lot?
What exactly happened in the story of Avraham and Lot? And how did someone who grew up in Avraham's home end up in Sdom?
Avraham and Sarah think ahead
Even though one can pray to Hashem for a miracle, it is not proper to do so, as that will detract from one's merits later on in life.
The secret of Jewish survival
Ultimately, Jewish history is fashioned and determined by those individuals who are motivated by passion and directed by faithfulness.
Go, go, and keep going - you can be anything you want to be
G-d did not tell Abraham to "depart". He said "go". What message was G-d sending?
Gaining mastery of 'Hilchos Bein Adam L’Chaveiro' online
The first lesson of the new cycle of the 'Hilchos Bein Adam L’Chaveiro' program is on October 19th
Abraham the innovator
Abraham is the first human being recorded as having a normal conversation with his Creator.
The Parsha and Current Events:
The insular nature of the Covenant
Today's nations want Israel to go alone, in the hope that Iran will destroy the annoying Jewish state. Abraham too had to fight alone.
The hidden conflict behind the Battle of the Kings
Why would a battle between ancient kingdoms get such prominence in the parasha? Was it all that it seems?
Does medicinal cannabis have "kedushat shviit"?
Is cannabis considered a spice and does it have the status of cattle fodder - for shmitta purposes?
Faith, Idols and the Generation of the Flood
Idolatry serves man's animal instinct, leads to war and enslaving others. Monotheism advocates a common effort for good and justice.
A great nation and its religion are born
Abraham was the first to define a great nation with a religion bound up in its land from the start.
Abraham - the paradigm for all Jewry
"How many individuals across the face of history have made a real difference simply because they were willing and able to finish the task?"
Weekly Torah Study: Does G-d need the rainbow as a reminder?
Isn't the rainbow a perfectly natural phenomenon that has existed from time immemorial?
Beyond Nature
Covenant introduces moral law. A moral law is not the same as a scientific law. Scientific laws describe, whereas moral laws prescribe.
Israel's first Chief Rabbi:
The Sabbath Influence
The very fact that the Sabbath is able to influence the days of work reveals the soul’s innate closeness to God.
Flooding lessons
In books of Chassidus (Tzidkat Hatzadik 107, Torah Ohr Parshat Noach) the Mabul is described as one great 'Mikve' (ritual bath).
The Tower of Babel - isn't unity good?
Parshat Noach: What happened with the Tower of Babel? What did they try to achieve, and why were they punished by being dispersed?
We need to be the light
Where’s the light switch of the world?
The Parsha in Chesed - Noach - The Straw That Broke
The decision to destroy His creation was not easy for G-d. The level of sin had reached a level that He could no longer “tolerate”.
Noah, a raven, a dove, and the Democrats
Have Jews really found resting-places for the soles of their feet?
Where did the dove find a leafy olive tree after the Flood?
If only Noach, his family and animals of each species were saved from the Flood in order to establish a new world, whence the leafy tree?
Office of the UK Chief Rabbi
How responsible was Noah for the flood?
In Isaiah, the flood is called "the waters of Noah." What does that imply?
The Parsha and Current Events: Thoughts on the world today
It is 5782 years from the time humans appeared and began destroying the beautiful world that Hashem created for them.