Steven Genack

How a prominent Rosh Yeshiva chose his son-in-law

And how to gain mastery of the whole Torah.

Lessons from Lag Ba'Omer

Rectifying the error of Rabbi Akiva’s students

From any tragedy, we must probe the root cause in order to rectify it. A Gemara provides a reason, yet a Midrash offers another.

A Survivor’s Story

Morris Engelson emphasized the divine Hand behind all the details, from his childhood in Vilna to his teenage years of hiding, to his ultimate escape.

Counting the Omer:

Wake up!

During the period of Counting the Omer, beginning during the Holiday of Freedom, we must come out on the right side of history, as individuals and as a nation.

Yeravam and King David:

What's wrong with second place?

Some people's life overplays competition and ego, forgetting about need and the most fitting arrangements.

“One In a Million”

There is really no way to leave a state of depression unless one has the courage and boldness to dedicate their energies to developing and honing their talents and doing something worthwhile for society.

Hanukkah and Mikeitz:

Yosef as a manifestation of the Menorah

There are three awe-inspiring similarities between Yosef and the Hanukkah lights, starting with his name.

Rabbi Avrohom Genechovsky zt"l: For his yahrzeit:

Two stories about a Torah Sage

From watching the behavior of a tzaddik, one can learn as much as from his Torah lectures.

Shaking the four species, beating the aravot, feeling every Jew

When you're holding the four species, when you beat the aravot, do you feel this power?

A living sukkah

The Sukkah is temporary just like our stay in this world, but it is a permanent fixture to deliver mitzvot to the next world.

Yom Kippur:

A call to keep one's eyes on the Heavens

On a day that we're purified before G-d (Vayikra 16:30) and thrust into the holy of holies, we must contemplate our overall duty of devotion, because “in the times of Mashiach, there is only One to rely on, our G-d in Heavens.”

Rosh Hashanah:

The individual and the nation

The difference between the admonitions in two successive Torah readings teach an important lesson for the New Year.

The rebirth of Nine

Proof that this day is a day marked for geulah is that the day of Tisha B’Av always falls on the same day of the week as the first day of Pesach. On Tisha B’Av we were spared and reborn.

Parashat Pinchas:

Hashem and I

The only thing that matters is your relationship with G-d.

The logic of mitzvot without logical explanations

Torah is not a series of logic games and intellectual exercises. It’s simply following G-d’s commands.

A war in unison - Et Lirkod

When we look to the last Book, in the Torah, V'Zot HaBracha, we find a simultaneous phenomenon mentioned as well—a tag-team phenomenon involving pilots in the air, soldiers on the field, and soldiers in the tents.

Shavuot:

The Torah of threes

'Blessed is the all-Merciful One, Who gave the threefold Torah: Torah, Prophets, and Writings, to the three-fold nation: Priests, Levites, and Israelites, by means of a third-born: Moses...in the third month, Sivan.

Passion, stability, and the way of the world

Why we don't make matzah the year round food, pushing chametz aside, and trying for maximum holiness.

Passover:

Matzah's letter of Redemption

Only one letter separates chametz from matza. What does this signify?

Framing Purim and our current Exile

When we jump to today’s time, we’re fighting an enemy who is not even called a man in the Torah. Their essence is pure savagery.

Yitro's proclamation

Why Yitro used "measure for meaure" to proclaim G-d's rule

Were there not other great things that could have made Yitro say, ‘Now I know,’ such as the actual redemption or the splitting of the sea?

Olam Haba and dreams

The gravity and majesty of olam haba and dreams are ever-present themes in the world.

Truth to Yaakov

The essence of Yaakov is truth=emet, in its truest form.

Turkeys, Thanksgiving and Christopher Columbus

Are Jews allowed to celebrate Thanksgiving? Read Rabbi Soloveitchik's answer.

Recent themes towards man's creation

If you look at Noach, you see how bringing nachas to G-d is our purpose as individuals and as a nation.

Nuanced Sukkah spaces

Open even a small space like the eye of a needle for G-d, said our Sages, and He will widen it till it is the size of a hall. Read how the laws of a kosher sukkah reference that inspiring and hopeful idea.

Pray for a hostage in the dark

We know the well-known Gemara (Bava Kamma 92a), that those who daven for others will have their prayers answered first

Elul: Towards gaining a meritorious judgment

There is a wise path to take to merit a positive judgment on Rosh Hashanah and lengthen one’s days.

Yado bakol - they are everywhere

Let's let's face it - they are loud and in your face.

This Yom Kippur: A triumverate of three Shabbatot

Is teshuva a prerequisite for Redemption?

A Chasam Sofer to treasure

We've faced the Gazans in the past and they have reappeared as a mix with the Yishmaelim and Amaleikim.

The ladder to holiness

The Rav famously said, there's no kedusha without hachana - no holiness without preparation. And now, where do we find ourselves on the ladder to holiness once Shavuot is over?

Two pairs of 12,000

It was not 24,000 students but two non-cohesive groups of 12,000 each. An analysis of the meaning of this presentation.

The Milah-Menorah Proposition

How is it that milah brings completeness? And what is the connection with the Menorah?

The Yetzer Hara and Purim

“Brief” encounters can lead to devastation.

A pure heart

Rabbi Zilberstein, shlita, recommended that everyone should take upon themselves two extra things to do for Shabbat.

Why? No. - What? Yes

We don't know why this has happened, but we must raise ourselves, based on what has happened, to new levels of Kiddush Hashem.

Rav Ovadia Yosef and Ariel Sharon: Who can forget?

Giving away Gaza was a death sentence for the Jews of Israel as we have seen in the past and as we see now.

Scattering sparks, shattered vessels

We can reach a Yom Kippur even in our brokenness, as this is when we got the second tablets,a state of completeness within human existence.

An Elul Insight: Explaining away anger and arrogance

What is the cause of two traits that we see so often and must try to overcome?

Finding commonality between the Rav and the Satmar Rebbe

Where do we see any nechama after Tisha B’Av? Year after year another Tisha B’Av passes, and we are left bereft of a Third Temple.

A halakhic definition of Sinat Chinam

We can define baseless hatred halakhically.. But how can we overcome it?

Building the Mikdash from the inside out

To merit seeing the Third Temple, we must build ourselves from inside out and breed sincerity in our hearts.

Pinchas: Zimri’s Messianic hopes

A look at Zimri and what his messianic hopes tell us.

Op-ed:

Netanyahu postponed Override Clause. Let's fix the rest

There is much that needs changing without the Override Clause - which might become irrelevant if the rest is fixed. Op-ed.

Impressions of Mike Pence

No one can predict as yet who will be president, but it’s important to know that former Vice Pres. Pence is a man of character. Op-ed.

Character as the Center of Gravity

For most, breaking middot is a lifetime of work that never stops.

How history greets a newborn infant

Children are new creations brought into this world and the Exodus occurred for each one.

Combing for sins

Being clear of sin is the goal for both the guf and neshamah in anticipation of the final resurrection.

Op-Ed:

The Three Pronged War taking place in Israel

An Erev Rav Analysis and the Pesach opportunity. The mixed multitude that left Egypt with us are alive and well, plaguing every generation.

Putting the Seder in perspective

The fourth son brings an important message that guides our lives.

Avoiding jealousy

Why does jealousy exist?

Rabbi Yisroel Reisman captures the Essence of Life

It seems like a contradiction in timing, but it is really a model for living.

Judea and Samaria are talking

The Chafetz Chaim once said that world disasters are messages from G-d to do teshuva.

Op-ed:

An evening with Mike Pompeo

While Pompeo's words at his book launching reflected his pro-Israel views, they were echoed in the choice of venue and participants. Op-ed.

Remembering a Gaon

I will never meet such a person again. But his memories push me to be a better person.

Genesis: The Book of Hope

This Shabbat, we read the last portion of the Book of Genesis. An overview of an underlying theme..

Emor versus Daber (Diaspora)

The word "emor" is softer than the usual "daber" found in the Torah. Why is "emor" used at the start of the parasha and later on "daber"?

Sefirah, Middot and instant decisions

A story shows how one's middot, literally 'measures', but alluding to values, are central to mitzvas, as is Counting the Omer.

The Ishmaelites are living up to their name: Are we?

When you think of man, what comes to mind? How would you frame man? How would you label the first human, Adam HaRishon?