When future historians come to write of our era, they will write of all the miracles but they will also discover another hidden miracle.
Great and formative events have occurred in Israel’s history, but there is always concern that the next generation— who did not experience the events firsthand—will forget them or lose the values and lessons derived from them. That is why Jerusalem Day was established.
Even today, not only in the past, the eternity and the glory of God are revealed in Jerusalem (Daniel 9) as a result of Israel’s victories.
Many of our brethren in the Diaspora are waiting for Mashiach to come and build the Beit HaMikdash. But the order of events is otherwise. First they have to come and then Mashiach will arrive to finish the work, may it be soon.
Why was the formal proclamation of the Jubilee year postponed until Yom Kippur?
The shmita year reminds the Jewish people that they are slaves of G-d, and therefore everything they own should be used to serve Him, whether land or people.
D’var Torah for Parshat Behar: Ramban says that Yovel, the Jubilee year in our parasha, means taking something forward.
Hey, Elias, if you cared for children in Gaza, why didn't you fly to Ben Gurion airport, cut over to Gaza, and enlist at the local Hamas recruiting office? Opinion.
The full solution is in the parsha this week.
The Torah commentator, the Alshich Hakadosh, bothered by this very issue, offers, that Shemittah astoundingly serves as the rebuttal to the claims of the Jew-haters and fools that sneer at our right to the land of Israel, and claim that the land of Israel was stolen by the Jews.
Yes, there is an unbreakable bond between Hashem and the Jewish people.
A person who is not subjugated to Torah - but to his possessions and his wealth - can not observe the mitzvah of shemita, whilst he still feels that he is the master of his fields.
And a call to rebuild a House of Prayer for the Nations, as prophesied.
We might be seeing now the beginning of the period where one evil nation wages war on another evil one, while in the background their countries are being ravaged by Hashem’s manipulation of natural disasters.
The Torah says that during the exile of the Jewish people, as they wandered the ends of the Earth, the Land of Israel will be desolate and barren, unable to support large thriving populations. And then comes the next part.
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.
This parsha contains the secret to overcoming anxiety and self-doubt.
In moments of personal hardship, it is natural to wonder: Why am I not being rewarded for my efforts? The Torah’s answer is painful, but empowering.
A radical compromise to the IDF draft controversy. Op-ed
Indeterminacy, as in the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle, overturns the old, classical idea of a perfectly predictable, clockwork universe and shows that chance and possibility are woven into the very structure of reality.
In recent generations, human consciousness has developed and expanded greatly, while the study and clarification of faith has not been sufficiently established to cope with it. The more we clarify faith and refine the guidance of the Torah, the more faith in God and His Torah will return to beat in hearts.
What is the nature of the Jewish people? Is the nation merely the combined contribution of each individual Jew? Or are the Jewish people as a whole a national collective with its own special holiness?
Though we are once again sovereign in our ancestral homeland for the first time since the days of Queen Shlom-Zion, the murderers still stalk us. And though tragedy strikes, we are in an incomparably better situation than we have been at any time since Queen Shlom-Zion.
Torah commentaries weigh in on the philosophic and practical issue of the difference between Shabbat and the other festivals and why Shabbat is mentioned with them despite that.
Why Reb Shimon ben Yoachai's passing came to be known as a "Wedding,"
It is taught that on the day of his passing, Rabbi Shimon taught secrets of the Torah that had never been heard before.
This ability, to see the good even in something that appears faulty, is what God demanded of Moses before he could redeem Israel, and likewise of Isaiah. When Rachel saw this trait in Akiva, she chose to marry him.
Not only Rashbi, but all those who follow in his path throughout the generations, especially in our generation, the generation of revival and the ingathering of exiles - whether they are aware of it or not - are sustained by the merit of his and their self-sacrifice.
There is a clear distinction between what is expected of the ordinary Jew and what is demanded of the Kohen.
Judaism is supposed to be a springboard, not a crutch.
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 pernicious disease of disrespect continues to infect our times. Disdain of others can also lead to demonization and baseless hatred of the sort that led to the destruction of the Second Temple. Let us overcome it.
The Talmud teaches that it is impossible to come to the Land of Israel without difficulties and suffering. Learning the secrets of Torah is the remedy. Read
Rabbi Akiva refused to see suffering as the end of the story, hopefully we can learn from his perspective and find hope in the ashes.
Questions of faith in our generation regarding foreign cultures and religions are becoming increasingly significant and widespread. Last week, the new book “Faith and Its Commandments” was published in two volumes as part of the “Peninei Halakha” series.
From the incense-filled sanctuaries of ancient Jerusalem to the comforting aroma of spices at the close of Shabbat, scent remains our most direct link between earth and heaven, body and soul.
Abraham, Isaac and Jacob as embodiments of God's divine attributes.
The danger when my comfort zones and fears become my god.
During the British Mandate, the Jews of Eretz Yisrael were no more united than they are today.
We live in a world that regards food, along with sexuality, as ends in themselves rather than as means. Judaism says something else about our needs.
Commentaries weigh in on what exactly this prohibition means.
This is not a world one can describe because one can only experience it from within oneself. In this world, we lose the very self to the magnetic pull of profound oneness.
What can connect the disparate commandments in Parashat Kedoshim?
Young Religious Zionist Torah scholars connect the weekly Torah reading with the Land of Israel.
A clarification of the many false claims made about Herzl, some of which caused the Haredi community to look askance upon Religious Zionism for its appreciation of Herzl’s dedication and bold Zionist endeavors.
The dangers of misguided zeal: Lessons from Nadav and Avihu
Stubbornness can lead us to, or away from, Hashem.
This prophetic message of the Return to Zion in the Haftorah was tailor-made for this Shabbat, falling between Yom ha-Atzma’ut and Yom Herut Yerushalayim.
During WWII, we begged the major ally nations to use their air forces to bomb the concentration camps, today the world is holding its breath and counting the minutes until our Israeli Air Force bombs the Iranians after it has already bombed the Houthis!
In reality, the kashrut standards maintained in the army today are often more stringent than those of the Chief Rabbinate of Israel and, in fact, often rival those of the mehadrin kashrut agencies.
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.
We are talking about the situation of entire Jewish communities ensconced in the darkness of exile, believing that it is perfectly OK to live in Gentile countries. But it is not OK.
It is very important to emphasize this confidence, because some, lacking faith, are frightened that the State of Israel will not endure, Heaven forbid.
The Redemption is gradual, it relates to the increase in light, yet it is also possible that within this process there will be times of great darkness.
If you want to be a better parent, you must first become a better person.
What if the key to our future is hidden in the very essence of our identity—Torah, Land, and People? Op-ed.
The beautiful connection between spiritual law and scientific discovery reminds us that everything in the universe is connected to Torah and vice versa.
Leadership is where a person takes responsibility where others are not present…
‘Why are the periods of impurity - and then purity - of the mother who gives birth to a girl, double the periods where she gives birth to a male?’
