יום רביעי, ו׳ אלול תשפ״וWednesday, August 19, 2026
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Rabbi Dovid M. Cohen is the author of two books, most recently 'Together Again,' exploring our post pandemic relationships. He hosts The Jewish Philanthropy Podcast and is a Senior Relationship Officer at Yachad. His website is www.rabbidovidmcohen.com.
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After our meeting, a searing pain gripped me, cutting deep into my soul. The reality of his absence and the passage of time hit me with a force that left me struggling to breathe.
We live in unfathomable times. This entire year of 5784 has been a disaster to put it mildly. I write this as 14 precious souls serving the Jewish people defending us and our land have been lost over the weekend fighting a brutal enemy.
At the same time, I yearn for the homeland. Israel is such a unique place. As comfortable as I am in the Diaspora, there is an inner call to return home.
Whether good or bad, and Chazal have diverse opinions on the topic, the nazir is different. In truth, everyone is unique; we are each holy individuals at the core.
The confluence of being a first-born and a kohein (and also a rabbi) obligates me to live an elevated life as a role model to others.
The Ramban suggests the miraculous is hidden within the mundane. That teva itself is really all miracles. That we wake up, breath, survive and thrive is all miraculous. Nothing can ever be taken for granted.
I may have been too young to truly grasp the magnitude of the atrocities but I vividly see today, in my heart's mind, the pain and anguish that was.
Giving honor to another person doesn’t cost anything. Building up another is giving them life.
Why is it foolish to compare oneself to another? Because life is the most difficult exam an many people fail because they try to copy others, not realizing that everyone had a different question paper
If a rabbi's learning, growing, and re-evaluating, he's still a practicing rabbi--pulpit or not.
The Geula comes "kima, kima" (little by little) or as my grandfather the Rav said "Yiddel by Yiddel"
Overcoming the challenge of affluence and remaining a down to earth baal-middos is worthy of praise
There are three Jewish crowns: the crown of Torah, the crown of priesthood, and the crown of kingship.
“Am HaNetzach Eino Mefached Mi Derech Aruka” (An eternal people doesn’t fear the long journey).
The first month of 2014 has brought an intense high and a profound low.
At some point I noticed an arresting picture on his wall and discovered that his maternal grandfather was Rav Dovid Lifshitz.
There is always some tension surrounding Super Bowl Sunday as one decides whether to watch the big game with friends or go it alone. I have a friend who makes a compromise. He watches the first half with friends – or, as he explains, “the novices,” those who aren’t “real” fans – but the second half, generally the more intense part of the game, he watches alone.
It’s been a rough few weeks. It began with the news of a heinous crime just blocks from where I live on Manhatan’s Upper West Side: a nanny viciously took the lives of her two young charges. Hurricane Sandy came next, contributing additional loss of life and financial devastation of a magnitude never before experienced by our East Coast brethren.
I once heard a story about a single man struggling to find a spouse. His main challenge was his insistence that a potential mate permanently welcome his widowed mother into their marital home. A friend suggested that he speak with the great authority, Harav Shlomo Zalman Auerbach zt’l. The man shared with the Rav his delicate predicament. The Rav validated the man’s approach as acceptable. Sometime later, the man met his bashert, the special woman willing to live with his mom. They returned to Rav Shlomo Zalman for his blessing. Surprisingly, the Rav called the man aside and told him that they cannot live with his mother anymore. The young man was shocked. After all, on the previous visit, the Rav had supported his desire to find a woman who would accept their living with his mother.
August 14, 2026 
