The Torah assumes Jewish life in Eretz Yisrael.
If we understood even a fraction of the true universal influence of the meeting of the Jewish Neshama (soul) with the Holy Land, an influence which infuses a higher life to all existence, we would not ask that question.
What keeps Diaspora Jewry from getting on that aliya plane?
How does one deal with non-attendance at a non-halakhic wedding without causing a hopeless rift in the family?
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.
If we had to point to one question that touches many of the sugyot, what would that be?
Redemption begins when I stop making peace with the lies.
When people refuse to see what is happening-when they ignore tension, brush away pain, deny blame, or pretend problems will vanish-the damage grows quietly until it is too late.
Two special jewels symbolize two special traits of the Jewish people.
We cry out to the Heavens “Ad Motai", how much longer do we have to suffer in Exile, why does evil continue to befall us and why have you not saved and redeemed Your people?
Certainly, the world still has much room for improvement, but it is in a process of continuous and ongoing advancement.
Do we show gratitude to someone who helped us if he also benefitted? What does it signify to show gratitude to inanimate objects as Moses did?
Commentators interpret the meaning of the words used to foretell the Exodus and the Israelites' becoming G-d's chosen nation.
A disagreement between the Ramban and the Ibn Ezra.
The four words of Redemption allude not only to the Exodus from Egypt, but also to the departure from the subjugation of the four kingdoms that ruled over Israel.
What can the ancient prophecy about Pharaoh and dating back over 2500 years tell us about our own world? Quite a bit.
We have to build our homeland in the Name of Hashem, the G-d of Israel.
If antisemitism looks like this during prosperity, what will happen when the inevitable downturn arrives?
This principle of unity transforming individuals into something qualitatively different is beautifully mirrored in Judaism.
Rabbi Eliezer Melamed answers a halakhic question, stating: "Explain that despite your love for him, you will not come to his wedding, because it is forbidden according to the Jewish faith".
Klal Yisrael is built in living rooms, at Shabbos tables, in bedtime Shema, in stories told on a grandparent’s knee. The chain rests with us.
Either man accepts God’s authority as the Legislator of moral norms, or he will eventually fail in all attempts to create a moral society.
Why are the physical traits of the Land emphasized the first time Hashem talks about it to Moshe? Young Religious Zionistt Torah scholars provide answers.
How did Pharaoh’s daughter know that the baby in the Nile was a Hebrew child?
What do these enigmatic names - ‘I Will Be Who I Will Be’ and ‘I Will Be’ - mean?
The prolific Torah luminary whose Mishne Torah, Sefer Hamitzvot, Guide to the Perplexed, Letter to Yemen's Jews, and more light up the ages, is brought to life in Israel during the week of his yahrzeit, with the high point an annual three day Rambam Conference.
The Rabbis in the Midrash, always sensitive to nuance, focus our attention on the enigmatic words: "G-d saw that Moses turned to see, so He called out to him from amidst the bush." What does that symbolize?
Moshe as a baby, non-supervised milk, and the food that builds a Jew.
We live in an age of unprecedented Jewish freedom and unprecedented Jewish disappearance. The Haftorah tells us that those who have disappeared are not lost forever.
The midwives saw to it that a healthy body was accompanied by a healthy soul. So must we.
Hopes which are destroyed cause deeper despair than complete hopelessness. The Jews had hoped for a new Pharaoh who would ease their lot, but the opposite occurred. Where to turn?
How to gain from a crisis.
There is a struggle here over the source of shefa - the flow of blessing - in the world.
Our sages teach that public embarrassment is akin to bloodshed, yet it is far easier to ignore it, to go about our business and pretend nothing happened. We think why should I get involved and put myself at risk?
Commentators analyze the symbolism of the burning bush.
Moshe’s name conveyed a lifelong mission: to oppose injustice and to fight on behalf of the helpless.
Were it Halakhically permissible, we would have to recite Hallel every day here in Hashem’s Holy Land!
Every tyrant who oppresses his citizens and does evil is also an enemy of Israel - from Pharaoh all the way to Maduro and Khomenei.
Jewish communities of Ashkenaz, Sepharad, and the Yemenites each read a different prophecy as the haftarah for Parshat Shemot, with each focusing on a distinct aspect of this redemptive process.
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 mitzvah of tzitzit particularly expresses faith and the unique destiny of Israel. The most honorable garment is the four-cornered fringed tallit which expresses all the latent powers within the person and within the world.
Just remember, the future of Am Yisrael and Torat Yisrael are in Eretz Yisrael, and we are fortunate enough to live in the historic generation of kibbutz galuyot.
The writing of the Septuagint was celebrated by many, yet our sages describe this moment as darkness descending on the world. Why?
Hashem is sending a coded message of encouragement for the Jewish nation.
There is a dire need to teach the truth to all Am Yisrael, both in Israel and in the Diaspora.
We are not asking for more. We are asking that the chain remain unbroken.
Much good can result from recalling the punishment for wrongdoing, even if this motivation may appear beneath one’s spiritual stature.
What true leadersship looks like.
Why was Yehuda chosen to lead? For many reasons, but first and foremost, a leader has to be able to stand up and jump into action to tackle threats, without consideration of the fallout or personal risk.
What is the difference between a blessing given through the hands and a blessing given through the knees?
Why did Jacob ask to be buried in Israel? See what the commentators have to say.
There is disagreement among our commentators if these are prophecies of the times of the mashiach, or if they refer to other events.
There is profound humility in King David’s words. For all his achievements, he frames his legacy not around military victories or political triumphs, but around covenant.
God does not do anything by accident. Not now. Not last year, not a thousand years ago. Not ever.
It is not good for a victim to replay the horror he experienced and to keep active the pain he has gone through. He must instead remove the traumatic event from active consciousness.
The Midrash identifies Manasseh and Ephraim not only as concrete individuals, but also their descendants Yehoshua and Gideon. What is that based on?
If a swastika on a wall provokes outrage while an interfaith wedding invites applause, our moral compass is dangerously off course.
Israel’s political, intelligence and diplomatic corps along with the media must remember they are in the employ of victory on the battlefield and security during peace time.
Hashem gives each person a role, a mission, a contribution. Ephraim receives leadership; Menashe receives honor. One is not at the expense of the other.
