יום שלישי, ט״ו תמוז תשפ״וTuesday, June 30, 2026
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Rabbi Chaim Goldberg has semicha from RIETS and a graduate degree in child clinical psychology from Hebrew University. Aside from practicing psychology and teaching Torah at various yeshivot/seminaries, he runs Mussar Links, a non-profit dedicated to publishing the Torah writings of Rabbi Hillel Goldberg.
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The IDF Rabbinate’s guidelines aim to answer many of the countless questions of Jewish law it has received in recent weeks regarding how to best fulfill the mitzvah of lighting Chanukah candles during wartime.
100% of all fallen Israeli soldiers have been identified. By comparison, to date only 56 percent of all the casualties from 9/11 have been positively identified.
Enemy and treason are defined not just by actions, but by intent. Left-wing extremists, right-wing extremists, anti-Zionist charedim – none of these groups want the destruction of Israel, the murder of groups of Jews, or to actively sabotage its existence.
Hesder yeshivot go a long way toward debunking the secularization concern, but hesder yeshivot have also made various religious compromises. And philosophically, religious Zionist soldiers embrace certain nationalistic elements foreign to the charedi belief system.
At the end of his advanced training the army wanted him for an officers course. He declined because he didn’t want to extend his time in the army. He wanted to go back to the beit midrash.
If 90 Seconds was the book I couldn’t put down, Angels in Orange is the book I could hardly pick up. But it is a critical book for every Jew to have.
A second primary argument centers around whether this war is a milchemet mitzvah. The Rambam appears to make it clear that when the Jewish nation is murderously attacked, it is a milchemet mitzvah shel ezrat Yisrael mi’yad tzar (saving the Jewish people from a murderous enemy).
Thousands of people crammed shoulder-to-shoulder, to imbibe the simcha and emunah laden in this historic affirmation of our covenant with Hashem. Not every day is there an opportunity to join a simcha the likes of which may not have happened since the days of Avraham Avinu.
After the chag, when the horrors became known, they said, Shai, just go do whatever you have to do. Shiva homes, supporting orphans, injured soldiers – whatever it is, we’ll support it.
While Rabbi Steinberg charted his own path, pursuing a career in medicine, the deeply rooted tradition of Torah study remained a mainstay of his life. More than anything else, though, it was the unprecedented synthesis of the two fields which warranted a festschrift at age 60.
Though an American native (she lives in Denver, Colorado), Kassai is especially equipped for this mission, as she attended medical school in Israel and has a fluent command of medical terminology in Hebrew.
As a volunteer, I’ve seen firsthand the unprecedented mobilization of Israeli society to support bereaved families, families whose husbands/fathers were called up, and refugees from the South and North. So, what missing element did this dinner offer?
Our current unity is the emergence of our pure core, with the many external layers of strife and internecine conflict stripped away by the brutal pain inflicted by Hamas.
Many outlets engaging in Israel advocacy are discussing the rampant hypocrisy and double standards applied against Israel in the current war, but few are discussing facts from not-too-distant history.
But of course, despite all these signals that something was very, very, very, wrong, nothing in my wildest imaginations conceived of the full horror that confronted me upon opening the news motzaei Simchat Torah.
I learned that throughout the shiva Leo Dee made one request of every high-profile visitor. A chameleon-like request. It was the same request for every person, except it took on totally different colors and shades depending on the visitor’s identity
How pleasantly surprised I was when I saw a page of the program dedicated, however briefly, to telling Shira and SPP’s story. This won’t give people a taste of who she truly was, I thought, but it’s a nice gesture nonetheless.
I couldn't bring myself to put pen to paper in the wake of that unspeakable tragedy then, so why are these memories flooding me now?
When asked what the MVP means to him, his response was, It doesn't affect me that much, to be honest. When I see the list, of course there's great names. I never thought I would be on the list. It's a surprise.
I had believed there was a lot of value to moving away from the inertia-like force that came to characterize Bibi's tenure.
With the Novominsker, zt”l, it was more subtle; with Rabbi Dr. Twerski's, zt”l, psychiatric work, it was more explicit. With both, their leadership was towering; their passing left leadership gaps the consequences of which have been deeply painful.
Now more than ever – with corona generating myriad mental health issues, including increased familial child abuse – more children need therapy.
The Rebbe’s suggestion – just combine the shuls! Never mind the significant ideological differences and different nusach.
June 26, 2026 
