Rabbi Reuven Taragin

Ethics of the Fathers:

What we need to survive

Hashem chose Avraham because he recognized what the world requires for its survival. Do we?

Rise Up! - The greatness of Torah learning

Considering Torah learning’s status as a central mitzvah, we can easily understand that it earns us life in the next world.

Yom Yerushalayim prepares us for Shavuot

What is the significance of Yom Yerushalayim falling exactly one week before Shavuot?

Ethics of the Fathers:

What we gain from pain

The answer depends on how we interpret the 'agra' mentioned in the Mishnah. What type of reward is it referring to?

Our life in perspective

Maintaining the appropriate perspective on life is achievable through reflection on both the presence G-d as well as the significance of our existence.

Ethics of the Fathers:

The space between us

May the Mishnah we are about to learn inspire us to infuse all our relationships and gatherings with Torah study.

The essence of Independence

The word for "independence" in Hebrew, atsma'ut, has different possibiities for delving into its meaning.

The Haggadah just told us:

The real reason we are hated

The V’hi She’amdah song should remind us that Hashem allows adversaries to threaten us in order to distance us from them, and subsequently delivers us to inspire us to strengthen our relationship with Him..

Essentials of Judaism:

All the world's people

Hashem is concerned with the fate and direction of all people and wants us to offer them direction. Judaism and Jews are meant to impact more than just Jews.

Personal Growth series:

How to inspire Ahavat Yisrael

Rav Elimelech of Lizensk reminds us that our connection with Hashem hinges upon our relationship with other people and our ability to focus on the good in each of them.

Why we celebrate tree planting

We only celebrate the Rosh Hashanah of trees, but not of other plants or even tree saplings. Why are trees more important than other vegetation?

Essentials of Judaism:

The fundamental centrality of Eretz Yisrael

The Torah assumes Jewish life in Eretz Yisrael.

Essentials of Judaism Series:

Goodness and integrity in the Eyes of Hashem

Either man accepts God’s authority as the Legislator of moral norms, or he will eventually fail in all attempts to create a moral society.

Essentials of Judaism Series:

The many forms of Kedushah

Meta-mitzvot are necessary because the Torah cannot possibly address every circumstance people encounter. Kedushah is an example.

Essentials of Judaism:

Milah: Defining ourselves

The brit is how we identify ourselves as Hashem’s people and is a symbol of our relationship with Him. And of what that signifies in our personal lives.

Essentials of Judaism:

Chinuch Habanim: Where Judaism began

Modeling is the only authentic and impactful form of education.

Personal Growth series:

Perpetuating G-dliness

An appreciation of man’s godliness should both deter murder and inspire us to bring more human life into the world.

Personal Growth series:

Our Moadim: The biblical Jewish holidays

The Moadim are a time when we meet with Hashem - either by physically travelling to the Beit HaMikdash or, at least, by being in His Presence.

Personal Growth series:

Living in Hashem's world

Judaism’s Thirteen Principles of Faith begin with the need to recognize Hashem as the world's Creator.

A reason both the War and Hostage releases fall on Sukkot

As we conclude Sukkot 5786, we daven that the hostages all return safely, and we enter Shemini Atzeret hoping to reinforce and strengthen our achdut

Reflections two years later:

The Sukkah as Hashem's protection

The lessons of the last two years remind us that although our enemies in every generation devise elaborate plans to destroy us, Hashem ensures our survival.

Personal Growth series:

The cardinal sins

If one is forced to choose between death and violating one of these prohibitions — even in private — one should (generally) choose death. These prohibitions are that severe.

Personal Growth series:

Ultimate freedom

The worst form of slavery is that of the spirit.

Personal Growth series:

Freedom to focus

Does a person who accepts the yoke of Torah really have other responsibilities removed from him? How?

Personal Growth series:

How we raise ourselves - the greatness of Torah learning

Hashem created every one of the world’s eight billion people with a yearning for meaning. Although we all know that we are merely one of billions, we want to feel that our lives matter.

Personal Growth series:

A timely message from Rabbi Kook

Rav Kook viewed Jewish infighting in Eretz Yisrael as a greater desecration than exile itself. “Let us come to know one another under the inclusive name Yisrael, not by factional or partisan titles,” he implored.

Personal Growth series:

Understanding rest and creation

The mitzvah of Shabbat is of great significance because it both reminds us of Hashem and gives us perspective on our lives.

Personal Growth series:

The big picture — our mission to the world

Hashem wants the world to be developed, not just populated.

July 4, 2025:

The United States and American Jews at a crossroads

Which approach will America take regarding Israel and the Jewish people? Will the extremist views and the polarization continue, or will one path emerge as the US’s bipartisan mainstream Israel policy? American Jews also have questions they must answer. Opinion..

Personal Growth series:

Our past and future

The last piece addressed our relationships with peers — including spouses, friends, and family. In addition to those relationships, we should also have meaningful relationships with the generations that precede and follow our own.

Personal Growth series:

Our family and friends - there for us when we need them

We are meant to assist and impact others, and we are similarly assisted and affected by them.

Ethics of the Fathers:

The Two Threes

Shimon HaTzaddik addresses the more fundamental question of why the world exists.

Shavuot:

How to be more than the average Joe

Although we all know that we are merely one of billions, we want to feel that our lives matter, that we mean more than just “the average Joe.” How can we do that?

Ethics of the Fathers:

Chapter III: Food for thought

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.

Ethics of the Fathers;

Stepping Up

Leadership is where a person takes responsibility where others are not present…

Yom Ha'atzmaut 2025:

From Strength to Strength on Israel’s “Oz” birthday

Hashem intends for us to fight for ourselves and strengthens our efforts, but only if we recognize that our strength comes from Him.

Contemporary Redemption: Why we take it slower

Why can’t we have a speedy redemption like the one from Mitzrayim?

Personal Growth series:

How we ought to care for others

The Torah prohibits the murder of and theft from any human being. In addition, we should act respectfully towards every human being because we are all created in Hashem’s image.

Personal Growth series:

When we are good

Our care for others reminds us of existences beyond our own.

The Faith of righteous women - then as now

As we prepare for Pesach, let’s pray that the faith and inspiration of Rachel Goldberg-Polin, Agam Berger, wives of reservists, and the many other righteous women of today merit our redemption, just as our foremothers’ faith merited our ancestors’ redemption.

Why we call it Megillat Esther

Considering Mordechai's central role, it is surprising that the Megillah is named after Esther. Should it not be named after Mordechai?

Personal Growth series:

The Miracles of Jewish History: Our return and revival

Are we to be numbered with the weak majority or the stalwart minority?

Celebrating productivity and resilience

By celebrating the renewal and resilience of trees, we recognize these same qualities within ourselves.

Personal Growth series:

How the world connects us to our Creator

Studying and appreciating the way Hashem reveals Himself to us in His interaction with the world strengthens our faith.

Personal Growth series:

How the past inspires faith in the future

Jewish history has never been a straight line. We’ve seen soaring highs and devastating lows, and those low points can be especially difficult to endure. But from our nation’s first low point, Hashem taught us how to handle future ones.

Personal Growth series:

How the Torah strengthens our Faith and Feelings

Torah study exposes us to Hashem through His thought process, making us meaningfully familiar with Him.

Personal Growth series:

G-d In our hearts and minds

What is the way we walk before G-d? How do we remember Him during the day?

Shimon the Maccabee wrote 2015 years ago: This land is our land!

Shimon the Maccabee’s words remind us that this is not the first time our rights have been challenged. They also help us formulate a response.

Personal Growth series:

Our G-d

Though Hashem created all human beings in His image, He chose us as His children.

Personal Growth series:

Our foundational relationship

Two descriptions encapsulate Hashem’s relationship with our world.

Personal Growth series:

Protecting ourselves

One who truly cares about avoiding sin protects himself by distancing himself from it.

Personal Growth series:

Showing our values

Honoring those performing a mitzvah reminds us of and reinforces our appreciation for the great value of mitzvah observance.

Personal Growth series:

True life

This week's piece is dedicated to the refu'ah of my nephew- Noam Avraham ben Atara Shulamit. May Hashem grant him and all the other chayalim a complete and speedy recovery.

Personal Growth series:

How mitzvot help us

The meforshim present different ways that mitzvah observance helps us.

Personal Growth series:

Completely Committed

Our commitment to mitzvot should be comprehensive — we should endeavor to observe all of His commandments.

Simchat Torah:

How to celebrate the year after 5784

We should not allow the challenges we are facing to cause us to lose sight of the broader good and special times we are living in. We have much to celebrate and be thankful for.

Chag Sukkot:

What we learn from displacement

The mitzvah of sukkah requires more than just eating meals in the sukkah; it involves moving our lives and most cherished items from home to sukkah.

Rosh Hashanah at a time of war

How to channel our fears.

Personal Growth series:

The Essence of Mitzvot

Naturally, we prefer to be free to make our own decisions and live as we please. Mitzvot call upon us to recognize our dependency upon Hashem and subjugate our will to His.

Personal Growth Series:

The source and centrality of Mitzvah observance

Mitzvot were a pre-condition of redemption. They were also its implication.