Rabbi Shlomo Aviner

The Algorithm is watching!

Are you searching for truth, or are you actually enjoying someone’s downfall in order to feel that you are on the “right" side?

Jerusalem

Above all, and within all, a nation needs a soul. The soul dwells here - in Jerusalem.

War - how is it like cholent?

In both cases, you know what you put in, but you don't know what comes out. Or is it not to simple...

Where do they differ?

Haredim and Religious Zionists

The argument is an internal argument, within the family, like the arguments between Rabbi Akiva and Rabbi Tarfon and between Rashi and Tosafot.

Encouragement under fire:

Rabbi Aviner enters Gaza to support troops

Rabbi Shlomo Aviner entered the combat zones in Gaza to deliver classes and inspirational speeches to the troops, and to give them encouragement to keep fighting.

Approaching Holocaust Memorial Day:

Visiting Death Camps

Travelling to the death camps is not necessary to realize the horrors of the Holocaust. In fact, the practice should be stopped.

Keep the army camp holy!

Is it permitted for three male soldiers and one female soldier - who is a driver or paramedic - to remain together in a Hummer (Humvee)?

Nerves of steel

Be of courage - our country is not received on a silver platter, but rather through war.

A rabbinic view:

On the death penalty for terrorists

A terrorist is not an ordinary pursuer intending to kill a specific individual, but someone who seeks to kill any Jew who happens to cross his path. How does halakha deal with that?

Everyone must come home!

The permission not to make Aliyah applies only to the greatest Rabbis of the generation. How is that?

Genocide in Gaza?

Should we have fought differentlY?

“Price Tag" attacks by so-called Hilltop Youth

The authority responsible for security in our beloved Land is the Israel Defense Forces - and only the IDF. Or the police. No private individual is permitted to take the law into his own hands.

Self-sacrifice and teshuva

This generation connects spiritually to the Land of Israel. That is the source of its willingness for self sacrifice in times of war.

"Restore sanity": Rabbis' call to Shin Bet Head Zini

Three rabbis from the religious Zionist community have issued a joint call for a change in enforcement policy regarding Jewish detainees in Judea and Samaria.

Questions and Answers:

Aspects of Hanukkah - interview with Rabbi Shlomo Aviner

From the Yeshiva's Beit Midrash in the Arab Quarter (actually the Old Jewish Quarter) of the Old City, Rabbi Aviner talks about miracles, why we don't say Hallel on Purim, and more.

Should the Prime Minister be granted a pardon?

The answer is a function of the country's needs.

Is this the Redemption?

Is this the country we have been waiting for? Absolutely! It’s not yet total light, but it has a lot of light.

The War of Gog and Magog

The War of Gog and Magog is described in Ezekiel, Chapter 38, as a war in which all the nations of the world rise up against us, and with God’s help we are victorious.

Can a Rabbi make a mistake?

How can it be possible that so many great haredi Rabbis err in their opposition to Zionism?

Delaying marriage

A child is not required to be a servant to his parents in his personal life decisions (within an observant framework), as HaRav Tzvi Yehuda Kook explained.

In the merit of Rachel

The Nation of Israel has a special power called the strength of Rachel, which keeps it alive.

Haftarah for Parashat Breishit:

Israel is here to stay

Even a religious and spiritually righteous person is capable of being afflicted with historical blindness.

Sukkot lessons for today:

A celebration of life

On Sukkot, we demonstrate that we are in love with life in this world; with our whole being, we immerse ourselves in the mitzvah

Teshuva the right way

Rebbe Nachman of Breslov said, “If you believe that it is possible to make mistakes, then you can believe that it is also possible to make amends.”

Blaming outside forces:

The mouse made me do it!

The internet poses challenges, but we can overcome them as long as we don't blame the mouse...and that's a message for all of life's challenges.

Staying strong in tough times

Is this the Redemption?

Haftarah Parashat Ki Teitze:

No place for fear

We do not rely on miracles; instead, the miracle relies on us. God brings greatness through our hands and from within us, through our efforts.

Haftorah for Parashat Shoftim:

A new world

Those who rise against Israel are destroyed. Those who still remain shall all meet the same end, may it be soon.

Of course Aliyah is a Mitzvah!

Rabbis must make the wonderful mitzvah of Aliyah a constant and central part of Jewish education. And, it goes without saying that they should make Aliyah themselves.

Domestic harmony within the nation

Why did R. Shimon ben Gamliel say that there were no days more joyous than Tu B’Av and Yom Kippur?

Parashat Devarim:

“Moses began to explain this Torah”

The Book of Devarim is not a repetition, it is an explanation of Torah in the Land, and its first lesson is that those who think Torah and military are two separate realms, must realize that the emergence of the Jewish People involves both.

A Teenager’s Guide to War

There are things in the world that develop slowly, step by step, over decades; and there are things that require a big change all at once - with great forces at work for a relatively short amount of time. Rabbi Kook's thoughts on war.

Parashat Balak:

The blessing of modesty

Clarifying some of the laws of modesty in an interview with Rabbi Mordechai Tzion.

Parashat Chukat:

Thanks to Hashem

The section on the Red Heifer, teaching purification from the impurity of death, is a preventive measure, a spiritual remedy for the inner trauma of the anticipated encounter with death in Israel’s wars for its Homeland.

Parashat Korach:

The complainers

The existence of the State, in and of itself, is a mitzvah, and transgressions performed within it do not invalidate its sanctity.

Parashat Shlach:

The sin of the spies

Yes, the desert with its manna and Divine Presence is more conducive to spirituality but this is not the Divine goal. The goal of the Torah is to build the Kingdom of God in the earthly realm with all its challenges

What is Torat Eretz Yisrael?

Explaining the Torah we received on Shavuot when observed in the Holy Land as it is meant to be..

For 10 Iyar, Herzl's birthday:

Theodore Herzl - The visionary of a Jewish State

A clarification of the many false claims made about Herzl, some of which caused the Haredi community to look askance upon Religious Zionism for its appreciation of Herzl’s dedication and bold Zionist endeavors.

Is this the Redemption?

The Redemption is gradual, it relates to the increase in light, yet it is also possible that within this process there will be times of great darkness.

Why the Pesach sacrifice?

The miracle of the angel of death passing over the Jewish houses teaches us a momentous lesson.

IDF investigating rabbi's visit to Syria

According to the IDF, while an IDF official approved Rabbi Shlomo Aviner and his assistant's visit to soldiers on the front lines in the Syrian Golan, that official was not qualified to do so.

The 7th day of Pesach: Haftarah

Let the Dry Bones live!

The Haftorah for the Shabbat of Pesach is the Vision of the Bones. For Jews, the Exile is not life, but only a place of survival like dry bones until we return to Zion.

How to clean for Pesach in a day

Remember: "Dirt is not chametz and children are not the Pesach sacrifice,"

Rabbi Shlomo Aviner visits Syria

Rabbi Shlomo Aviner and his assistant Rabbi Mordechai Tzion visited soldiers on the front in Syria 'to strengthen their fighting spirits as reservists of the Military Rabbinate.'

To Serve or not to Serve

Moshe Rabeinu served in the army; Yehoshua served in the army; King David served in the army. These holy heroes of the nation were great in military prowess and great in Torah.

Parashat Zachor:

Amalek – the Enemy

In the face of such evil – to attack the weak and those free of sin without reason and with baseless cruelty, which reminds us of the unlimited Nazi-Hamas hatred – there is only one possible response.

When will there be peace?

The concept of peace found in the Torah is not necessarily built upon that of peace-loving neighbors, but often built upon the fear we instill in them:

Yehuda the Maccabee was a realist

Spirtual Q & A on Hanukkah that brings the past to bear on the present.

Decline of the West in the Book of Ovadia

Yes, Esav rises high up to the top of the ladder, but eventually Hashem orchestrates his fall. It was prophesied then and it is happening before our eyes.

Vayetze:

Only in Eretz Yisrael

Yaakov understood that through the holiness of Eretz Yisrael, which was the “house of G-d and the gate of heaven,” he would be able to fulfill his task of connecting heaven and earth.

Linking to Sarah

All of Israel emanates from Sarah; likewise all the converts who joined the Nation during every generation, even though they are not directly linked by a biological chain. Every convert is called the son of Sarah.

11th of Cheshvan:

Rachel – Comfort on the way

As long as Rachel is crying for her children, she is alive. And so are we. She suffers over our plight, but she is still very much with us. As long as she responds to our prayers and comforts us, she continues to be.

My Fellow Rabbis – To the Land of Israel!

The mitzvah of the moment is to awaken your congregations to take immediate steps to begin the process of Aliyah.

The snake and the Smartphone Family

Interview with the head of Yeshivat Ateret Yerushalayim addresses the hard truth about the smartphone.

Crises as we build our national life

'The difference is that Diaspora Jewry is feeling the spasms of death while the Jews in Israel are experiencing the spasms of birth.'

Shaked: Women can do anything, including lead a country

Former Justice Minister respectfully tells rabbi off, says 'women can do anything.'

Bennett: Rabbi Aviner's comments are disgraceful

New Right leader slams prominent Religious Zionist rabbi for saying women should not be in politics.

Rabbis against New Israel Fund: 'It fights against Judaism'

Rabbis Eliyahu, Lior and Aviner call upon religious Zionist organizations to sever contact with NIF. "They seek to destroy us from within."

Rabbi Aviner: Commanding a mixed unit a violation of halakha

Rabbi Shlomo Aviner, rabbi of Beit El, says he did not authorize religious officer to serve in mixed-gender unit

Rabbis, MKs: High Court Has Something Against Us

Hundreds of people joined a large crowd in Beit El to recite afternoon prayers near two buildings the High Court ordered torn down.