The struggle over Eretz Yisrael has never been solely a military or political contest. At its core, it is a test of faith, vision and national purpose.
One could bring countless examples showing how Rabbi Mordechai Eliyahu ZT"L followed the path of Moshe Rabbeinu and of all the righteous individuals throughout the generations who continued that path. Below is a selection in honor of his yahrzeit
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.
How the Baal Shem Tov saw 15 years into the future.
Less than two miles from where Jews were recently stabbed and Jewish ambulances were set alight, a community chose pride over fear.
A Sefer Torah's story that begins in the town of Eich near Worms, Germany, continues in New York, and becomes part of the post October 7th resurrection of a secular Gaza envelope kibbutz.
The greatest of the Tannaim and Amoraim worked to support themselves, making their Torah study their main occupation and their work secondary.
What is a great curse for our people? When those who hate you are found within you.
It is a mitzvah for every Jew to serve in the IDF. But he must learn and follow the appropriate halakhot.
A single gesture toward a baby reverberates throughout History.
Why did the Sages decide to add this particular paragraph about Tzitzit, out of the entire Torah, to the central prayer of Judaism?
We must rectify the ingratitude that brought about weeping for generations. Therefore, we must thank God for the great miracles that have occurred in our days.
First "provoke" followed by the next phrase asking 'How much longer will they not believe in me?' A survey of commentators explaining and contrasting the two dramatic verses.
True humility is a choice.
The deepest secrets of the Torah cannot be understood without the wisdom of music
The core moral failure of the desert generation, and the corrective embodied by those who came next.
The spies looked at themselves through the eyes of those they were meant to confront. Once that happened, the battle was already lost.
Tzitzit is not merely a commandment - but a way of life that directs the gaze toward holiness and the land.
What was sinful about the words of the spies? Weren’t they supposed to give an accurate report of what they had seen? (Ramban)
Human beings have always had a remarkable ability to romanticize what they once desperately wanted to escape.
“We’re all better off, far better off, in the desert, without any distractions," they said. "Maybe one day when there is a Holy Temple in the Land, after Mashiach will have come, it will be time for us to enter the Land of Israel and possess it. But until then, we’re clearly better off remaining in the desert."
Commitment to truth should not prevent the community from living in peace and unity.
A fundamental teaching in Chassidut says that all existence is an expression of a single Divine reality.
When the festive Salute to Israel Parade concluded, the marchers returned to their homes - in the Diaspora.
This is a deliberate strategy designed to make European Jews feel exposed, targeted, and ultimately unwelcome. It says that their most sacred traditions can be criminalized at any moment with the stroke of a pen.
Standing before the same landscape, the spies and Joshua and Caleb reached opposite conclusions. The results were not long in coming.
Historically, it seems that the more accessible the sanctity of Judaism became, the more we were tempted by outside influences.
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 week, my book ‘Cheftzei Kodesh’ (‘Holy Items’) was published as part of ‘Peninei Halakha’ series, containing he laws of tzitzit, tefillin, mezuzah, Torah scroll, the writing of Sta"m, the honor of the synagogue and its construction, genizah, and the reading of the Torah.
The desert strips away the illusion that we are in charge. It reveals how little we actually control and how much energy we spend trying to manage and mitigate.
Love Your Fellow Jew!
The episode of the spies teaches that facts alone do not always determine conclusions. That is why responding to modern anti-Jewish bias with logic, history, or evidence so often proves ineffective.
The Narcissist & the Nazirite: Narcissism in Greek Mythology and the Talmud - a contrast in word view.
Why at the Red Sea crossing was Moses told, 'What are you crying out to me?', and why, in this passage, was the prayer for Miriam answered only partly?
Can we continue building when progress seems slow? Can we keep lighting the Menorah even when the room still feels dark?
What is the method of purifying the Levites and why is it written after the offerings at the Tabernacle dedication? Commentators weigh in on the meanings below the surface.
Fortunate is the person who sets aside fixed times every day to study about guarding his speech.
There are temporary shortcomings but we work alongside Hashem to constantly grow and improve on the path to final completion.
I would write, weather permitting, while sitting on the row of 8 bombs while placing the Gemara and notebooks on the row above of 7 bombs.
A message of Jewish faith for Parashat Behaalotcha.
An extract from 'Bechayil UveRuach', the last book that Rav Haim Druckman approved for publication before he passed away less than a year before the start of the Gaza War. The title hints at the verse, “Not by might nor by power but by my spirit, says the God of Hosts" (Zecharia 4:6). And the army of Israel applies this principle, as it battles “mightily - with the spirit of God."
Shavuot is two days in the Diaspora, one day in Israel. Thus, whle Israel read the regular weekly portion, Naso, last Shabbat, (and will read Behaalotcha this coming Shabbat), Diaspora Jewry read a Shavuot portion last Shabbat and will read Naso this coming Shabbat.
The Rabbis say that, had Moshe led Bnei Yisrael into the Land, he would have built the Beit HaMikdash (Holy Temple), and it would have never been destroyed.
Hashem chose Avraham because he recognized what the world requires for its survival. Do we?
The Haftorah reminds us that redemption does not begin with spectacle. It begins quietly, often unexpectedly, when ordinary people accept extraordinary responsibility.
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 balance between continuity and individuality is one of Judaism’s great achievements and it comes to the fore in the parasha.
Before speaking about another person, we should ask ourselves one honest question: Am I truly going to help this person directly and privately, or am I simply using the language of “concern" to give myself something to discuss?
Tzvi Fishman speaks with Rabbi Yosef Mendelevich, pulling no punches about Diaspora Jewry's current situation and what the future holds in store.
When walls become a window,
Considering Torah learning’s status as a central mitzvah, we can easily understand that it earns us life in the next world.
We honor the divine soul and, by extension, the One who implanted it in the human body, by respecting the living as well as the deceased.
The greater the effort that is put in to the safeguarding of the Torah, the greater the spiritual import and potency of said decrees
It is a commandment to place an eruv tavshilin on the eve of the festival • This permits cooking and baking for the Sabbath on the festival • Even one who does not intend to cook for the Sabbath on the festival is commanded to place an eruv tavshilin.
The deeper meaning of "we will do and we will obey.".
Me - a rebel girl, long outta Borough Park, began to study a "bissel Toirah" later in life with the help of my dear friend Rivka Haut z"l. Here are some of the things we discerned in the Book of Ruth.
Note that the Bikurim declaration deals with agricultural produce, while ignoring the bigger implications of the Jewish nation and our great spiritual mission as Hashem‘s chosen people in Eretz Yisrael. Why?
Learning to seek the fire: we find many parallels between the story of the burning bush, the Sneh, and Matan Torah at Mount Sinai.
When heaven touches earth.
