The Talmud says a person should envision that the master of what he is learning stands before him. Rav Soloveitchik describes doing so.
Short thought provoking vignettes for quick reading.
Rabbi Yossi bar Chalafta said to Rabbi Yishmael his son: 'If you wish to see the Shechinah in this world, learn Torah in Eretz Yisrael.'
Which is the inner person that friends and family recognise as the real you? A great career? That is Adam I, but is there an Adam II?
The silence of the elders of Israel widened the breach in the people’s trust in Moses and Aaron, leading to the sin of the Spies.
Torah, Avodah, and Gemilut Chassadim — are what the world exists for and what we, therefore, should be focused upon
Speaking against Moses, led to a punishment for Miriam, but what about Aaron? Rabbi Akiva vs. Rabbi Yehudah.
What is the real meaning of humility? Is it self-deprecation or something very different?
The greatest demonstration of Jewish unity is when every Jew, no matter where he is, feels the pain and suffering of less fortunate Jews.
Sins between you and your fellow man are doubly harmful.
What is 'Second Passover'? Why don't other holidays have second date also?
Why the last minute request of the tribes' leaders to bring special offerings as soon as the MIshkan was up? Why not plan in advance?
Zohar means "glow" in Hebrew - and humility, glowing and eternal, is diametrically opposed to pride.
The sequence of breaking camp and travelling is not random or capricious: there are reasons for the Tribes travelling in formation.
We need to remember that the most consistent dwelling that Hashem has on earth is the camp of Bnei Yisrael, and we must keep it holy.
The IDF is playing a game with Torah Jews, a nasty game that creates a PR stunt against Haredim, depicting them as parasites.
Much of Judaism is based upon repetitive behavior.and the leaders' offerings exemplify that while the menora flame is a message to parents.
An in depth study of the ancient works of of the Alter Rebbe, Rabbi Shneur Zalman of Liadi. Each class is independent.
Insights into a Jewish rite of passage and more..
Understanding of one of the most central aspects of Jewish life has inspired me and my female colleagues to develop the “MidraIsha.”.
We asked if a Jewish government may surrender parts of Eretz Yisrael, and he said ‘Why ask me a question every child in Heder can answer?'
Rabbi Uri Zohar was the epirtome of a baal teshuva who uses every minute to make up for what he perceived as lost Torah study time.
Young Rel. Zionist scholars: When Am Yisrael reaches perfection by developing its Land and building the Temple, G-d’s Name is complete.
The prescribed process for dealing with a suspected Sotah are hard to comprehend.
'One day I noticed that the Rav had raised his eyes from the Torah text he was studying..I dashed to the Rav to request a blessing...."
Wouldn’t it be nice if we could simply talk to God, ask God Himself why the sky is blue or why bad things happen to good people?
Parashat Naso - Shavu’ot 5782: The parasha and current events.
The word “Morasha” (inheritance) is written only twice in the Torah. Once in reference to the Land and once in reference to the Torah
What does blessing the People of Israel have to do with the work of the Holy Temple? Why are the kohanim the ones to bless the people?
There is surely a message in the juxtaposition of the two events.
Over 75,000 Israelis ignored the threats, came to Jerusalem, and sang and danced through the streets of their eternal capital .
What are the memories and thoughts that should fill our minds and hearts as we are about to recite Yizkor on Shavuot?
The Torah lifestyle reaches out to every corner of the world that seems to be empty, shallow and "dry"- and gives it life, color and depth.
Would we not have expected Shavuot, of all the Festivals in our calendar, to be replete with impressive rituals?
The special laws when Shavuot begins Saaturday night .
The objective in conversion requiring only observance of tradition is those families who have taken root here and are aware of traditions.
Why this Parasha is read shortly before we again receive the Torah on Shavuot.
Is it Kabbalat Shabbat on Friday night, Shacharit, Torah Reading, Mussaf, Mincha, Kiddush, Havdala? Which speaks to you the most?
It's not teachers who need to demonstrate, but parents, children, and all those who care about education in Israel.
One is a thesis. Two is antithesis. Three is synthesis.
We got t hrough the rikudgalim of Jerusalem Liberation Day and we are still here, prophets of doom notwithstanding.
The deep meaning of the world "midbar" - translated "desert", but whose root is the same as that of speech - and more insights in Judaism.
The Greatness of Torah Learning
Rav Kook was subject to intense British pressure to grant the Arabs ownership of the Kotel in exchange for the right to pray there. Then...
55 years ago the two parts of divided Yerushalayim were reunited – east and west. Now we must reunite celestial and physical Jerusalem.
On day 43 of the Counting of the Omer, that jubilant message was broadcast to Israel by IDF General Motta Gur. But since then....
The Vilna Gaon said as quoted in Kol haTor, “The essence of the ingathering of exiles requires no fewer than six hundred thousand." Why?
Bamidbar is also called the 'Book of Numbers'. But the verb 'Pakad' - to count - also has other connotations. What is the deeper meaning?
Apparently, the greater the detail, the greater the mystery that it engenders.
Putting a comma in a different place in a verse in the Parasha changes the whole meaning of the verse.
Three messages for Shabbat: About a Tzaddik zt"l, on self sacrifice in Ukraine, and how to go on a long journey and stay unscathed.
Each tribe had a flag that marked the direction of travel. A flag signifies something to stand up for, something to believe in.
The Parsha and Current Events: Words and Numbers,
The natural world is brimming with miracles, but the transmutation of caterpillar into butterfly is in a class of its own.
Are they contradictory aspirations or do they synergize?
The Tanya compacts four millennia of Jewish wisdom to answer the great personal and existential questions of life.
There is no incitement in marching through the "Muslim" Quarter where the British census of 1920 counted 1000 Jewish families.
In the ideal situation exisiting in the Land of Israel, there is no need for miracles. Torah study and life lead naturally to holiness.
The Torah is not a suspense story or a melodramatic reality show.
