יום רביעי, ט״ז תמוז תשפ״וWednesday, July 1, 2026
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Michal can be reached at michal@jewishpress.com
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The world is filled with so much good and yet there is so much sadness all around. Look at people's faces, there is a lot of stress and worries that no one knows how to fill.
There were so many volunteers and wonderful administrative people, I simply couldn’t stop smiling. I was so honored to be part of such a beautiful program for such a wonderful purpose.
Hashem, who gives us life every second is constantly waiting to hear our appreciation for all He does for us.
From the time the Jewish people cried out to Moshe Rabbeinu in the desert after the meraglim – spies – came back from the land of Israel, complaining for nothing, we, the children from all generation thereafter, have been crying during these months every year.
The events are so close to one another and each event is so tremendous and upsetting, that one has to be absolutely blind not to see that there is a cry from above, from Hashem, to His children begging them to listen.
It is written that in the days of the final redemption, the events that will take place in the world, and with the Jewish people especially, will happen so quickly that one event will barely finish when the next will already be there waiting to unfold.
Jerusalem is just like Mount Sinai, where Hashem spoke to the whole nation and gave us the holy Torah.
I didn’t know what to think or where to go. I wanted to turn around and see that it was just a bad dream and that the music would start playing again.
The more successful we are and the more money and power we have, the more we forget who gave us all that success.
We must also stop on this very special day and say is that all? Is that all Hashem wants from us, to return home and that’s it?
Hashem in His infinite wisdom created the holidays for His children.
It's written that only in happiness can we be redeemed. We leave the bad behind and in peace we will be led to salvation.
The opposite ends of love and joy, to pain and sorrow are great. We tend to live somewhere in the middle between great joy and great pain.
Since last year around the time of Passover, when all the country closed down for the first time, there was a feeling in the air that something big was going to happen. Many thought perhaps the redemption finally came and we will all be redeemed.
As Jews, no matter what we are experiencing and going through, it’s the Torah and all it entails that keeps us alive and riveted no matter what is happening around us.
When I think of Queen Esther I usually feel sad for her. Everyone was saved and she had to stay with Achashverosh.
It felt like the time when the Jewish people left the land of Egypt. There was a terrible plague running wild outside, and inside Hashem was protecting all of His children from the worst of all.
All the children of Israel make up one great entity of spiritual holiness. Each Jewish soul that lives in this world, no matter what their state of mind or being, makes up the Jewish nation.
Change throughout the generations are not only on a physical level, but on a spiritual one as well.
My grandfather loved to show me all his books and would ask me if I was learning as well. He would always tell me a story from the Gemara, and his face would light up as he would tell it.
Human nature is to get used to things and not wanting change.
These families live daily, even every moment, with the thought of what can, and might, happen to them as a result of their presence in such hostile areas.
By reading and rereading the same Torah portions each week, we connect to our past history and receive strength to deal with our present situation and future ones as well.
We all go through our share of hard moments in life, and during the darkness we can hardly see any light. We try to hold onto the thought, that there is light at the end of the tunnel.
Twenty-five years later with grown children at my side, her words of wisdom echo in my ears daily.
There are many people in the world that don’t fit into these prestigious groups of individuals. What will be of them? Who wants to know them? Who can be proud of them?
Hashem, in His infinite wisdom, created the human mind with the great ability to forget or to blur out the hard and dark moment.
We all come from a special tree that belongs just to our family. Yes, all the trees together make up the forest, or the orchard. However, each tree in itself is special and one of a kind.
There is a story of a mother who saw that her child was stuck under a very heavy object and in great danger, and she suddenly had great energy to lift it, in order to save her child.
It's very hard to see Hashem's presence in such hard times, it's very difficult to see G-d's plan when all around things seem so unfair and challenging.
When Rachel "cries" to G-d she is actually singing to him from the depths of her soul.
Each and every one of us is part of Am Yisrael, and we are made up of many souls and many missions that we are expected to fulfill.
Hashem in His infinite wisdom, sent us from the heavens above the holy Torah, down to us so that we may learn, grow and purify ourselves.
Avraham had a yeshiva background his whole life, and has a soft spot for others in need. The 5 other young men he has working on his farm, are boys that couldn’t find themselves in regular yeshiva settings and were headed for the streets to try their luck and see what would come up.
Thoughts filled the air with: What will be with the virus? When will the roads be open again? What decree was sealed in heaven this year for the nation?
When we make our mistakes, we feel it here and now. However, our mistakes are also written up in heaven, in our books.
No matter what truly happened in any given situation, the media is there to chop up whatever "meat" is offered in the town square and hang that victim up by a noose for life.
The distance between what they know and can do is so far from actual driving, that it seems almost impossible.
Do we appreciate things while we have them? Or do we only appreciate them once they are taken away?
She was finally there, watching her son get married. Eva kept telling herself, one day also Nachum will return to me and I will tell him that I was there for him.
After this uncertain year which hit everyone in the world and not just an individual here and there, we come to this time of year feeling and thinking differently than just any year.
The new homes that are being built daily and the new roads that are being paved are all part of the final salvation of the Jewish people.
As soon as a person gets used to whatever they have, or are doing, it becomes mundane, and we feel that it isn’t so special or important after all.
With this terrible virus in the world things sure seem to take on a new light... Today we suddenly feel G-d's presence more than ever. We feel something changing in the whole world, not just in our neighborhood or in our city or state.
My dear son, you are still very young, only 18 years old. Life is ahead of you and you are just beginning your journey down the path of life.
Going back to the history of our nation, we can clearly see how after each horrible event we received greatness and glory.
As G-d-fearing Jews, we all have a connection to Hashem and yet we don’t see him, or hear him, nor can we feel him.
Throughout some of my hardest times, I always felt as if the Lubavitcher Rebbe, though I never met him, was always there for me.
The things that the meraglim saw were true, however, Hashem is always trying to see the good and to concentrate on what is positive.
We live our lives in such fast motion with all the advancement of this generation, that we really get caught up in the moment and forget who is running the show.
I try to be strong while speaking to him and yet I feel from day to day that the experience just keeps getting harder and harder.
When Am Yisrael received the Torah it is written that they were able to see the sounds, as opposed to hearing the sounds.
As I see it there aren’t bad students, there are just some teachers, who do not know how to reach that specific student.
Hashem is always with us and talks to us in the language of each generation; whatever is fitting for those times.
We must feel that we are creating something new at all times, and we must also realize that the path we walk on was walked on since the beginning of time.
Suddenly our mothers who knew so much when we were young and who became old fashioned as we started growing up, whose style we didn't want to follow, takes on a new appearance.
I feel useless, and helpless. Most of all I know how much my children, especially my special needs child who lives in a home, needs me.
I suddenly stopped and realized why I hadn’t seen Eliyahu HaNavi by my front door. He was right here in the hospital, saving my dear son.
I go to sleep hoping things will change in the morning and this big nightmare will be over and then the morning comes and all I hear are new restrictions regarding this crazy epidemic.
While we are going through some hard times it seems like a lifetime. Once the trauma or bad experience passes it doesn’t seem like it was so long.
Corona in Spanish means crown. The bacteria Corona is in the shape of a crown as well. Why all the mention about a crown? Why a crown? Why the language Spanish?
Ora's oldest son was close to her all along, while Ora and her daughter Sara's relationship took off to a bad start almost from the very beginning, when Sara was only 10 years old.
Avraham Avinu was the leader of his generation and he guided all the souls of his time to recognize Hashem.
About a month ago I finally received my teaching license. I was so excited it took me a few days to calm down just thinking of what great effort went into getting this degree.
Despite the ever-changing times that we live in, when we choose to follow the path of the Torah that never changes, we are actually choosing the path of life.
I prayed daily and begged the Almighty to have mercy on me.... I tried telling myself this too is for the best, and that it was all from Hashem and therefore it was good.
The fun memories are nice and have a sweet taste of my childhood and my great love for my Zaidy.
The story of the plagues is a story of our daily lives. We are not prophets like Moshe and Aaron, and yet Hashem talks to us all daily.
Hakarat Hatov – which means gratitude, is one of the biggest actions we can take to please Hashem.
What happens when that devil is standing and waiting for you as you failed or messed up at something?
Falling down had some hope immersed within its meaning. If someone falls down, they can get up.
If women were given the gift of 9 portions of speech as opposed to the men who were given only one portion, we must realize that Hashem gave us a gift and wants us to use it wisely.
We get caught up so easily on small matters of who’s right and wrong in an argument. We hold grudges for months, sometimes even years.
She believed in giving people chances in life to be great and to bring out their potential to its maximum.
What the Maccabees had was that light, was that ability, to let in the goodness which is G-d and his Torah.
No one likes to be in the company of a pessimistic and depressing person. To say the least, it's not a pleasant experience.
Rabbi Shlomo is well known for his love of every single Jew and his ability to reach so many souls with his special music and his magnetic personality.
Sometimes a person just wants empathy, understanding, and having someone just be there in the moment with a hug or a listening ear.
When we choose our friends and connect to certain types of people, we must make sure that they are good people inside and out.
If we were to neglect or disregard such a gift, that would be a great insult and disrespect to whoever gave us the present. The greater the value, the greater the insult.
The sukkah, like the chupah, is pure and simple. It is symbolic of a strong spiritual connection.
And when the time finally comes to have the verdict read out loud, one can just imagine how tense and scared this person will be to find out if his life will now go back to normal, more or less, or be changed for the worse.
There is a feeling of awe and trepidation. The beginning of the year isn’t just the numerical marker of the New Year. It's not just a date and then the next day everything goes back to normal.
Hashem set the world in motion and is in charge of this world, at all times. We know this as a fact, but we do not necessarily feel this protection when something goes wrong in our day.
Hashem, our father, is so merciful and He listens to us at all times. No matter how often we fall, He is always there when we want to get up and try again.
With our children, whom we care for and do everything we can for from the time they are born, we tend to think that we control them.
The more one trains themselves to listen to this strong feeling in his heart, the clearer that voice will get and the easier it will be to do what is right each time.
What differentiates us from all other creations of Hashem, such as animals for example, is our ability to choose and make change.
If a person only has one Jewish neighbor, he will appreciate him, but if all the neighbors are Jewish, he might not even know the name of the person living next door.
What is it that makes a person stop and look at a cute little baby and even take the time to smile and say hello?
Sadly, the most common places we meet with love and hate is in family conflicts.
Many people today are being sucked into the electronic and computerized devices. The youth suffer from this connection more than anyone else.
Hurting or upsetting any person is a very serious sin, especially in the eyes of the Creator who created us all and loves all of His children.
When we make choices, we should try to see all the sides involved and not just our own point of view.
Whether people knew the Rebbe personally, or met him just once, or just read stories about him, each one feels a personal connection.
The Torah teaches us that when it comes to controversy and dispute even the small children can be harmed. That’s how deep and internal the evil and poison of the dispute can be.
Enjoy the moment, enjoy dreaming that what you really want should come true.
The entire courtyard of the masses becomes silent exactly at sunrise as they pray to Hashem. This is a magnificent moment; you can hear the hum of the prayers as all the Jews unite quietly with Hashem in prayer at that exact moment.
Shmuel was so special since he was created from the love his parents had for Hashem – they yearned and prayed for a son who would serve Hashem.
Sometimes you see a couple that you would never have dreamed to match together and yet Hashem did “dream” it.
June 26, 2026 
