יום שישי, ד׳ תמוז תשפ״וFriday, June 19, 2026
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Avi Ganz is the program Director of Ohr Torah Stone's Yeshivat Darkaynu. He lives with his wife and five children in Gush Etzion where he volunteers for MD"A, plays the blues on his Hohner, and reminisces fondly of his days playing tackle football with the IFL.
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By Avi Ganz
At the same time, the Jews of Cape Town or Teaneck, Boro Park or Antwerp are just as Jewish as the Jews of Bnei Brak, Tiberias, and Jerusalem. All of them have a divinely-gifted share in the Land of Israel.
By Avi Ganz
Our default setting, as natural as water in a seabed, is "Knowledge of the L-rd." Without the distractions and challenges of our lives, we would be so powerfully aware of Hashem's presence.
By Avi Ganz
Rav Chaim, zt"l, like other Mussar Greats, teaches that mussar isn't a negative thing at all!
By Avi Ganz
Chanukah tells us that sometimes, especially in the dark and cold of winter/Galus, we need to let go of our supposed control and let the Divine run the show.
By Avi Ganz
According to AI, nachas is a Yiddish word that translates to deep pride and joy, especially the kind felt from the accomplishments or meaningful actions of a loved one, particularly one's children.
By Avi Ganz
Chol HaMoed represents the weekdays or mundane days of the holiday. It isn't less holiday and more mundane, but they are a time to see the festival as it manifests beyond the days during which creative activity is forbidden.
By Avi Ganz
The lesson is that to aspire to greatness in leadership, we need to realize that the kedusha; the greatness, is everywhere. Not just in the burning bush or the heavenly voice.
By Avi Ganz
We have a tendency to relate to our ups and downs in terms of closeness and distance: an up brings us closer to our goals and to G-d, and a down does the opposite.
By Avi Ganz
Lavan wasn't just a bad father-in-law; he was a bad person. In contrast, Yitro is a man with a significant past and what seems to be a very strong moral compass. And he wants to help.
By Avi Ganz
While we often think of Chanukah as a tale of great victory for the Jews (and for good reason! The Al Hanissim only mentions this aspect of the story), the fact is that Chanukah and its accompanying tails of bravery were and are about the temporary victory of a few brave and strong-hearted men.
By Avi Ganz
There is no Hebrew word for "history." There is the modern Hebrew's "historiya," but the Torah doesn’t seem to afford any significance to history qua history.
By Avi Ganz
After the plague that wiped out his myriad students, Rabbi Akiva could have faced the harsh reality that they weren't worthy.
By Avi Ganz
Haman and Amalek will always exist. Their goal is to bolster their own self-esteem by introducing us to our own inadequacies. And our answer to that attack is to vanquish them.
By Avi Ganz
Imbibing alcohol can take the proverbial edge off and its dangers are well known to all, but there is something unique about schnapps.
By Avi Ganz
We have all fallen into a sort of lull wherein this is the new normal, but it is not the new normal and it is not any normal, and guess what? Not everything needs to be normal.
By Avi Ganz
While a dictator may rule over or control many people, an absolute monarch possesses both unlimited power and a sense of being beholden to his kingdom.
By Avi Ganz
Even after mankind was banished from Gan Eden and sentenced to a more limited experience, Rav Chaim says, our potential is so much greater than we too often believe.
By Avi Ganz
Before allowing something to expand, it would be advisable to make sure it has the space in which to expand. Without that space, the results can be disastrous.
By Avi Ganz
As early civilization was arranging the calendar, they weren't looking at the Jewish Bible for direction, they were looking to the universe for their relative place within it.
By Avi Ganz
Maybe therein lies the secret of the chulent: We Jews aren't one stereotype. Among the different backgrounds and traditions (and the many without a particular tradition) there are myriad characteristics, personalities, and (flavor) profiles.
By Avi Ganz
To quote Hypocrates: "First, do no harm." Avoid what pulls us down – personally and collectively. But then pursue good. Asei tov.
By Avi Ganz
Life begins with our willingness to use the faculties with which we've been entrusted, as well as to open ourselves up to input from the outside.
By Avi Ganz
The Gemara (Kiddushin 30b) says, I have created the yetzer hara and I have created the Torah for it as a spice. A spice? Not a defense, an antidote or a vaccine?
