While we see ourselves as a nation, (Bnei Yisrael), we began as a family, Bnei Yaakov. Let us act like one!
The whole picture is that our security and spiritual situation has improved dramatically from a year and a half ago. Opinion.
The power of blessings is greater than the power of curses and a parent’s blessing for their child has a particularly strong impact. The Torah prohibits cursing someone, wishing for their death, illness, or other misfortune.
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.
I am deeply moved and with great pleasure present to you a pre-war song of the Gerer Hasidim, sung as they travelled to the Rebbe for holidays, performed by me.
As we read about the burning bush in this coming Shabbat's Torah reading, perhaps we should look for a message in the tragic devastation in Los Angeles.
The transformative power of holding space for the pain of another.
The midrash teaches that the enemies of Israel have to be defeated by Israel (or one of Israel), and not by an outsider – even if that outsider happens to be an ally. That is the deep meaning of the name Israel.
What kind of blessing is it when Yaakov prays that his grandchildren increase like fish in the land?
On account of their merits and the merit of their actions, we have the strength to stand against those who seek to harm us in our own day, and go on to fulfill our destiny despite the heavy price we are forced to pay.
As the fast approaches, we must remember that there are burning issues that require communal attention and our individual dedication.
Asarah B’Tevet was the original cause—the first event that, had a domino effect, setting many other tragic events in motion. (See selected Halakhot for this year's fast, that falls on a Friday, at end)
Yosef targeted his brothers' feelings by appealing to their minds.
Like the majority of Jews in Mitzrayim, that 80% that would not leave, if they don’t come home to Israel they will be lost.
On the surface, battle are won with weapons and battle tactics. Beneath the surface, they are won because our minds and tongues were preoccupied with prayer.
Those engaged in commerce, must sustain those engaged in Torah, and, further, they themselves are thereby deemed to be engaged in Torah toil!
We specifically bless our children to be like Ephraim and Menashe and we bless them with the words of Hamalach Hagoel Oti, that they too be like fish.
One red rose, vibrant in her hopefulness. A reminder in this year of hope, of grace, of life’s beauty. A year in which we were shocked to discover, that mankind has not changed since the Holocaust.
Regrowth can be harder than growth because it involves a level of self-knowledge and the discipline to set the right conditions.
Torah wisdom is NOT the product of any contemporary reality, but the source of its power of renewal. A Hanukkah postscript.
The festive completion of a Talmud Tractate intermingles with the mourning for a future son-in-law murdered in a terror attack and the pledge to continue to build this country as he would have wished.
Bittersweet Exile - A reflection on Galut and the call of Eretz Yisrael.
It is forbidden to believe in traditions that lack logic, and to act upon them. Jews are commanded to focus their faith on the Torah and commandments, which uplift a person and guide them to be good and just.
Saying “Baruch Hashem” on life’s pleasures will only reinforce the value of pleasure, so how should we go about it?
Our Sages explain that the rivalry and reunion of Judah and Joseph is the basis of the concept that there are two Mashiachs, not one – Mashiach Ben Yosef and Mashiach Ben David.
Young, religious Zionist Torah scholars connect the week's Torah reading to the Holy Land.
Working for the public good is certainly laudable. However, there are certain hazards inherent in such a path.
Letting go of my expectations. Letting go of the notion that life must look a certain way.
“Hashem Yisbarach always loves me and everything will always only be good for me… more good and even more good.”
One can not help but thank G-d for the Jewish homeland which preserves our status as a “Great Nation”.
The stories of our ancestors are recorded for us in the Torah as a lesson for the generations. Joseph did not act for reasons of personal revenge, but with a spiritual motive that should guide us.
Menashe's synthesizing role—balancing Joseph's universalism with Judah's particularism.
D’var Torah for Parshat Vayigash.
G-d wants us to accomplish, not just exist.
Just because we are dependable doesn’t mean we are constant. Just because we are constant doesn’t mean we are dependable. In which category do Joseph's brothers fall? And where are we?
Why did Joseph ask a question to which he had already been give the answer?
In historical terms, the Maccabean Revolt was the beginning of the end of the Seleucid Empire. Moral: Don't mess with the Jewish religion.
The gravity and majesty of olam haba and dreams are ever-present themes in the world.
The evil eye (ayin ha’ra) causes harm in both visible and hidden levels, first a loss of a person’s self-confidence and on a hidden, deeper level, just as a person’s negative thoughts about themselves can harm their body, they can also affect others, and harm them.
What is the way we walk before G-d? How do we remember Him during the day?
Spirtual Q & A on Hanukkah that brings the past to bear on the present.
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 process is unfolding before our eyes. Day by day, the light of Israel increases. How blessed we are to be a part of the miracles of Hanukah at this time.
There was a major shift in the world of Torah scholarship 2,200 years ago. A new light was born in response to the Greeks' darkness that, paradoxically, strengthened Torah scholarship for all time.
There are compelling parallels between the 1948 knocks as expounded by Rabbi J.B. Soloveitchik and the 2023-4 post Oct 7th events.
As a legendary actor of Hollywood teaches: “When you have to shoot – shoot.”
Like the Hashmoneans, we have to stand steadfast against the ideology of Yavan as seen in the UN, ICC and academia. With courage, conviction and Jewish pride, we must expose the darkness for what it is.
It has been a year filled with tragedy and suffering, but as G-d performed miracles for us in those days, He performs miracles for us now. When we say the second blessing over the lights, think about those miracles.
G-d charged the Jews, with responsibility for the spiritual perfection of the world, and He charged the Greeks with responsibility for the physical perfection of the world. A harmonious symbiosis which collapsed when the Greeks sought control.
Rabbi Kook explains how Knesset Yisrael knows how to join heaven and earth.
This week’s Parshah continues the story of Yosef, and his rising from the ashes of an Egyptian prison to the rank of Viceroy, second only to Pharaoh
“For God was with him - the name of God was always on his lips.”
The State of the Jewish Nation means navigating paradox.
Shimon the Maccabee’s words remind us that this is not the first time our rights have been challenged. They also help us formulate a response.
Young, Religious Zionist Torah scholars explore the connection between the Toraph portion of the week and the Holy Land.
Sephardic Chief Rabbi David Yosef publishes guidelines for soldiers in the field and travelers for the lighting of the Hanukkah candles.
Events that occur at a Biblical level of open miracles can still happen.
Rashi explains the juxtaposition of the section on the menorah to the section on the offerings of the princes, but what does it mean for our time?
If you want to solve a problem, you need to have the facts, whether they are needed to solve Pharaoh's dreams or the was in Gaza and Lebanon.
