Imagine a police officer standing next to people praying outside who prayed as follows: 'May God bless our soldiers and security forces...'
Clouds of sin can obscure the rainbow, the sign of our Covenant with Hashem. Its semicircular shape is not random, but deeply symbolic.
People scoffed at Noah, just like they scoff at me when I write about the importance of modesty and the harm caused by promiscuity.
For Am Yisrael to fulfill its destiny, it must be physically within the Land and must keep the mitzvot within the Land.
They have been to the Land, been to Zion, been to Jerusalem, the Holy City, and been to see it. And then they leave to go "home."
What exactly was the rebellion of those who built the Tower of Bavel?
When a person feels low and downcast, the best advice is: 'Make yourself into an ark.' (Genesis 6:14).
How can we be happy all the time despite the challenges of life? Rabbi Yuval Asherov explains the secret is in a mental shift.
Chodesh tov! Today is the first day of a new Hebrew month which has two names. Why? And another question: Why isn't life fair?
Loss is a very real part of life for everyone at one time or another, and grief is a natural reaction to that loss.
Speech can create a world and speech can destroy a world.
When troubles occur, the Torah advises us to take advantage of them to examine our actions. This plague forced the world to look inward.
We are still making amends for Adam's making the wrong choice.
Torah from Israel's first Chief Rabbi, the iconic leader of Religious Zionism: The Torah's message is ethics in a world created by G-d.
Hashem actually speaks to Kayn first even before the murder. How does this conversation fit in to the flow of the story?
A fundamental theological cornerstone of Judaism is found in this parasha: Man must continue the process of creating things anew.
The difference between the Hebrew letters Daled and Resh is almost indiscernable, but in two specific words, they make all the difference.
Was the real sin of Adam and Eve impatience?
The Torah is not a joy-killing mechanism, but a system meant to refine the joys of life and elevate then to a spiritual dimension.
How come it says "and it was good" about every day of Creation except for the creation of man. Was it good or wasn't it?
The G-d of Israel has bestowed you with abundant blessing. I doubt very much that He is happy with your choice of roles.
There are good things that resulted from our praying outside, things we should try to retain and that contrast Abraham with Adam and Noah.
No matter what anyone did, Rabbi Levi Yitzchak knew how to find a positive and optimistic way of presenting it to G-d. We sorely need him.
Instead of the best coming out from the candidates we see the worst. And that is too bad, because it doesn't have to be that way.
When will the time come to reclaim our lives?
Rabbi Manis Friedman explains the Torah's view on the proper approach to thoughts of punishment and suffering.
The strange 5781 holiday season is over. What now? Start from the beginning....
Each of us is tempted every day with the very same test as Yosef when we sit down at the computer. Today, the Internet is Potiphar’s wife.
Romantic expectations are not what build a strong marriage bond. It goes much deeper.
Pray the Almighty judge from His seat of compassion, as we fight today's enemy with masks, distancing, being seated alone at home.
We read how Moses blesses the tribes before his death and a few minutes later how G-d created the world. Our story is greater than corona.
Torah from Israel's first Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi and iconic leaader of Religious Zionism: 'Longing for home, the dove returns to its nest.'
Insights for Shemini Atzeret and Simchat Torah.
Moses will die in exile, but he cannot leave his people without blessing them, and he does so poetically, evoking Sinai and Jewish history.
The Torah's last verse, last message, surprisingly focuses on Moshe Rabeinu's greatness.
You want to live only for yourself? So go into isolation only with yourself.
The feelings God has for us are the same feelings we have for those we love who are ill, whose death is in sight, whose time is short.
Why is the holiday "Simchat Torah" celebrated when we complete the reading of the Torah, and not when we begin the new cycle?
A new family-oriented holiday series, Ceremony and Celebration, full of resources to engage your family in meaningful Yom Tov interaction.
Forty years of living in sukkot were a lesson in what this world really is. They woke up every day to see flimsy walls blowing in the wind.
The Tanya compacts four millennia of Jewish wisdom to answer the great personal and existential questions of life.
Rabbi Nachman taught that the mitzva of sukka is a "segula" for coming to Eretz Yisrael. I can attest to that!
Understanding the source of the difference in holiday observance in the Diaspora and Israel.
Rabbi Nachman said it is possible to start fresh at any moment, find the good in every moment.
The holiday of Sukkot is the antidote to the fractured hearts of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur.
Without the Oral Law's detailed descriptions, we would not be able to build the more open sukkas we need this year.
The magnitude of Hashem's voice is perceived in accordance with the spiritual intensity of the respective place and situation.
Let's take a page from the lives of the Ushpizin.
Imagine that Bibi once again addresses the community of nations. This time, he takes a crown out from his bag of tricks.
The sukkah, symbolizing the transience of the material world, takes on new meaning in a time when a plague has subdued human arrogance.
Torah from Israel's first Chief Rabbi, iconic leader of Religious Zionism: The willow represents the unlearned, blessed with common sense.
If Sukkot is the Festival of Happiness, why do we read on Megilat Kohelet, which seems to be a very depressing book?
Sukkot is the yahrzeit of the Torah Gaon, intrepid Chief Rabbi and head of Merkaz Harav Yeshiva, A glimpse into the life of a tzaddik.
The Chief Rabbi’s D’var Torah for Sukkot: Abraham the Patriarch symbolizes the fruit that never falls off the tree.
We can fly to the moon and Mars but we cannot guarantee ourselves a safe dwelling. For that, we have to rely on G-d. Sukkot memories.
First, we had to daven outside. We had to meet our grandkids outside. Now we are in our Sukkah outside - where it's supposed to be!
There is an intrinsic reason why we need to hold the 4 species as we do. How does this connect to the true smell of the Arava?
Should we swap chairs in the Sukkah? Was the Sukkah real? What is a sanctity of silence?
We have so many temporary dwellings in life, but how do we build the home of our souls?
