Our world has come to realize that we most successfully educate our children by example, not speeches. We can instruct our children from morning till night not to smoke, but if we ourselves smoke, it will be futile. They think,…
Vayetzei תשפ"ד Yaakov had to leave home because his brother Esav had vowed to kill him. This week’s portion begins with Yaakov’s journey (Genesis 28:10): י) וַיֵּצֵא יַעֲקֹב מִבְּאֵר שָׁבַע וַיֵּלֶךְ חָרָנָה 10) Yaakov left Be’er Sheva and…
Toldot תשפ"ד Antisemitism (Hatred of Jews), a phenomenon that dates back to the Jewishsojourn in Egypt, has perplexed pundits, Jew and non-Jew alike, for millennia.What is the source of the world’s deep hatred for us?Were the Jewish people a militant…
Chayei Sara תשפ"ד This week’s portion begins with the passing of our Matriarch Sara at the age of 127 years (Genesis 23:1,2). (א) וַיִּהְיוּ חַיֵּי שָׂרָה מֵאָה שָׁנָה וְעֶשְׂרִים שָׁנָה וְשֶׁבַע שָׁנִים שְׁנֵי חַיֵּי שָׂרָה: (ב) וַתָּמָת שָׂרָה בְּקִרְיַת…
Vayeira תשפ"ד This week’s portion, Vayeira, is the fourth portion in the Torah and at this point it has been over 2000 years since Hashem created the world. Regarding the 2000 years that have passed, the Torah has shared…
Parshat Lech Lecha תשפ"ד This week's portion introduces us to Avraham Avinu, Avraham our forefather, who was so dedicated to Hashem that he made it his life’s mission to teach the world about Him. Hashem, in turn, loved Avraham so…
Parshat Bereshit תשפ"ד Last Shabbat– (Shemini Atzeret morning), the world woke up to the news that Israel was under a deadly attack. Hamas staged a major uprising. Entering Israel from Gaza, they murdered, in cold blood, nearly 1,000 soldiers, policemen,…
Sukkot II תשפ"ד The Sukkot holiday is blessed with two mitzvot: the mitzvah to dwell in the sukkah for seven days, and the mitzvah to take the four species – the lulav, etrog, hadas (myrtle), and aravah (brook willow).…
Sukkot תשפ"ד The Tur (written by R. Jacob ben Asher 1269-1343) notes in the name of his brother that the three festivals, Pesach, Shavuot, and Sukkot, correspond to our three forefathers, Avraham, Yitzchak, and Yaakov: Passover corresponds to Avraham because…
Yom Kippur תשפ"ד During the course of the year when we twice daily say the Shema, we recite the second verse,ברוך שם כבוד מלכותו לעולם ועד (Baruch shem ..) Blessed forever is Hashem’s Honorable Name, silently. On Yom Kippur, though,…