In this week’s portion, the Torah commands us (Deuteronomy 22:8): (ח) כִּי תִבְנֶה בַּיִת חָדָשׁ וְעָשִׂיתָ מַעֲקֶה לְגַגֶּךָ וְלֹא תָשִׂים דָּמִים בְּבֵיתֶךָ כִּי יִפֹּל הַנֹּפֵל מִמֶּנּוּ 8) If you build a new house, you shall make a fence for your…
There used to be four seasons a year; spring, summer, fall and winter. But these days we have created many more seasons for ourselves. There is constructions season from April to Nov, Pumpkin Spice Latte season, which had an early…
Let’s play a game. I’m going to introduce you to four people, and you have to figure out which one doesn’t fit in the group. Up first is Yousef Muhammad Al-Zahari, a 53 year old man from Akhmin, a small…
Dear Reader: I’m currently in Montana, learning and teaching with about 40 young Jewish men from all over the US and Canada. Therefore, I don’t have the time to write a Shabbos email from scratch, so I’ll share one from…
Hand Built in England. That is the proud claim that greets you as you open the door of an Aston Martin DB9 Volante, long considered to be of the most beautiful creations in the automotive universe. The next thing that…
As a child, Will always seemed to gravitate to more violent forms of play than the other boys in his neighborhood. Even when his mother took away his toy guns and swords, Will found a way to turn the most…
If statistics are correct, Jews comprise .02% of the world’s population: There are over 2.5 billion Christians, almost 2 billion Muslims, and billions more people in many other religions, including non-believers. Interestingly, the Torah instructs us to follow the majority…
This week’s portionראה starts with a bang. Moshe tells the Jewish people in the name of Hashem (Deuteronomy 11:26): כו) רְאֵה אָנֹכִי נֹתֵן לִפְנֵיכֶם הַיּוֹם בְּרָכָה וּקְלָלָה 26) Look! I am placing before you today blessing and curse! Rabbi Ovadia…
This week’s portion contains, the only Torah-mandated ברכה - blessing, according to all opinions, namely, ברכת המזון - Birkat Hamazon, the Grace after meals, which is derived from the verse in (Deuteronomy 8:10): י) וְאָכַלְתָּ וְשָׂבָעְתָּ וּבֵרַכְתָּ אֶת יְדֹוָד אֱלֹקֶיךָ…
Yesterday, was Rosh Chodesh Av, the first day of the month of Av. The Code of Jewish Law (551:1) teaches us: א) משנכנס אב ממעטין בשמחה; ובר ישראל דאית ליה דינא בהדי כותי, לישתמיט מיניה דריע מזליה 1)…