Happiness is a critical and essential part of service to God, and we must strive to find this joy within us when we observe the mitzvot.
This is the Torah of Eretz Yisrael - and we have to say Amen.
Already since the days of the Rishonim, it was noted that the custom is not to attach the reading of the Parashat Ki Tavo with the curses to Rosh Hashanah. Why?
There is no nation in the land, except for Bnei Israel, as all the nations, compared to it, are as nought, and do not merit being called ‘a nation’.
If our purpose is survival at all costs, we become our own purpose, and that is a recipe for disaster. It leads to violence, wars, theft, murder, and a general breakdown of society.
A rung above idolatrous religions are Christianity and Islam, which are closer to the light of God. They, too, have a major deficiency, in that they do not recognize the role of Israel in revealing God’s Word to the world, and instead claim to replace it.
One category of sin isn’t “better” than another.
The room that I am talking about is the war that Israel is fighting. The elephant is our religion’s commandments on how we are supposed to fight wars.
Upon study of the topic, one finds that the Redemption is indeed a natural, dynamic, developmental process which requires our efforts to bring it about. Understanding this requires delving into the Torah's depths.
In the generation of National Revival, as the revitalized Jewish Nation returns to its Homeland, a new type of religious Jew must appear to take up the challenge, wrote Rabbi Kook.
What do you do when you are offended or hurt by other people's words or actions?
Mitzvot were a pre-condition of redemption. They were also its implication.
What about brainstorming some new outreach ideas? LIke - Why don’t teams of people man tables on or near the university lawns to answer questions about Judaism?
English translations Rabbi Pinchas Stolper nurture growth and interest in the English speaking world in Rav Hutner's writings and have made these briliant works available to the English-speaking reader.
Why a dual imperative?
The beloved Rosh Yeshiva of Merkaz HaRav, known as the "father of the settlements" gave a clear message to his fighter students.
Holding space for alll my parts, while anchored in my divinity, brings me a double portion of Llght.
Inside Israel we pray that we will bask in G-d’s warmth and that any wars we might still be constrained to fight will be outside our Land. We will “go out” to war, so that we will shed no blood in our house.
We need to realize that not everyone hates us; to meet supporters and potential supporters where they are, to work with them, and build deeper understandings and relationships.
Young religious Zionist scholars find connections between each week's Torah reading and the Holy Land.
In a parsha with tens of mitzvot between man and his fellow man, three are between man and G-d, but that is not coincidental.
A selection of commentaries on a difficult Torah commandment, with a surprising twist at the end.
Can parents abrogate the connection with their child? The Torah has an unusual way of answering that question.
It is rare to find someone with no strengths or no faults. Most of us are a blend of both, but cancel culture give no one a second chance if he has made one mistake.
There are messages for today's situation clearly spelled out in the parasha.
The fate of a nation rests on its mothers.
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.
G-d treats His creatures mercifully, i.e., patiently, allowing them an opportunity to make amends, and going beyond the letter of the law.
The vision is for each religion to purify itself of all its flaws and reveal its unique path in serving God, and adding blessing to the world.
Through just walking into our homes and looking at the mezuzah, we are reminded of the importance of compromise.
The declining demand for rabbis leaves many highly gifted and qualified Modern Orthodox would-be-pulpit-rabbis seeking employment options that are non-rabbinic, or moving to Israel.
I challenge anyone under the sun to find one statement or even an intimation of any “hatred” the Rebbe preached towards any human being.
The Torah gives us the framework for justice, even when it’s hard to swallow. It's not always about compassion or rehabilitation.
The way to get happy and to remain happy is to totally transform the way we understand happiness.
Instead of adopting the Torah’s approach of besieging a city with starvation, thirst, and the spread of disease, we have embraced the opposite approach, and then complain when the war drags on, our soldiers are killed, and our hostages suffer privation and death.
A Tale of Two Torahs: The timeless and the timely.
When the Torah forbids our "cursing the leader of the nation" it does not mean they are perfect. it means that we have to let the government function even if we disagree with it.
“About half an hour before his death,” Dr. Zondek recalled, “the rabbi took my hand in his...."
Apparently, as explained by Rashi, the Jewish army was commanded not to engage in total warfare; even against immoral nations, the humanity of the Israelite army required that we would not act as total savages, and therefore, effort must be made to preserve the fauna of a city that the Jews were attempting to destroy.
In its military prowess, in the building of Medinat Yisrael, and in the full content of its national life, as well as in the life of each and every individual, Am Yisrael realizes the potential of the unified soul of the Jewish People as a whole.
Hunted by his enemies, David, too, felt betrayed and abandoned:
Whatever the case, a judge obviously is obligated to aim for truth and integrity even when the tools of justice may impede his way.
The feeling of entitlement, of taking without giving, is contrary to the most fundamental teachings of the Torah.
When we study something, the information is in us, but it doesn’t become us. When we learn, it becomes part of us. And it should change us.
Our actions – not “black arts” – determine our future.
The results of many cases brought before the US Supreme Court are predictable because of the previous strongly held views of the individual justices. They are not corrupt in the criminal sense of the word, but in the world of the Torah they are not freed from the taint of corruption.
The combatant's willingness to sacrifice by possibly paying a personal ultimate price is soothed by realizing that his actions are linked to the fate of his nation and are an act of worship of the Creator.
The seven prophecies of consolation guide us every year from crisis to renewal, to restored pride, joy and dignity.
There is a wise path to take to merit a positive judgment on Rosh Hashanah and lengthen one’s days.
We possess all the resources we truly need within ourselves. Our growth and our mission in this world are squarely within our grasp.
Not dwelling on what happened, but deciding thatince they wanted to destroy us physically, we must answer physically as well. Jews worldwide need to begin the process of coming home to Eretz Yisrael.
"What am I here for?" is a question that every Jew should ask themselves every day and every year, and reinforced during the month of Elul, and even more so on Rosh Chodesh Elul 2024.
Cherna Moskowitz z"l was laid to rest today, next to her late husband, Irving, on the Mount of Olives, a few meters from the grave of Rav Avraham HaCohen Kook. A tribute to a woman of valor and builder of Israel.
What is evil, and how does one comprehend its place in our lives? People have an obligation to recognize that evil exists, but understanding its essence is beyond human intellectual capacity, says Rabbi Soloveitchik.
Today's tragic news of six hostages murdered in Gaza reminds us of the suffering described in Eicha, Lamentations. But there is more in Eicha than mourning - there is new growth.
Rav Kook explained that there exists a special connection between Ein Eitam and the High Priest’s purification on Yom Kippur.
Parshas Re’eh is the Shabbos that blesses the month of Elul. The sublime revelation of the Yomim Noraim is like being in the presence of Hashem in the Beis Hamikdash.
Young Religious Zionist Torah scholars find connections to the Holy Land in the week's Torah reading.
The Torah of the Land of Israel contextualises kashrut. Judaism is not merely a religion – it’s what elevates us as a nation, sanctifies us as a nation. What we are allowed to eat is part of what defines us as a nation.
