The Key to Greatness
Rabbi Meir Kahane, perhaps the most dynamic Jewish orator of our time, a speaker capable of inflaming hearts and inspiring the masses, a par-excellence TV debater who chopped the glib intellectual banter of opponents into tiny insignificant scraps, he had a bothersome stutter in his youth, which had to be mastered in order to fulfill his dream of reaching out to the Jewish People.
Prominent Rabbi Criticized For Speaking With Reform Leaders
The rabbis noted that former Chief Rabbis Avraham Shapira and Ovadia Yosef both issued harsh rulings condemning joint discussions with Jewish religious movements that deny the Written and Oral Torah, emphasizing the danger and Chillul Hashem involved.
Shovavim and the Secret of Good Health and Happiness
A discussion of various practices related to the shovavim period.
Did The Fires Of Machloket Destroy Shlomo Carlebach’s Moshav?
People are still talking about the miracle. A devastating fire last week destroyed almost all 50 houses in the heavily-wooded Mevo Modiim community – the once pastoral residence of Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach in Israel – but the village’s beloved, hand-decorated beit knesset survived unscathed.
Brit Milah on the Chopping Block in Germany
Normally I hate the Germans, but I have to give them credit on this one! Let their banning of brit milah be a reminder to our Jewish brothers and sisters in the Diaspora that we don’t belong in foreign lands. Unfortunately, I doubt whether the new law will affect the Jews of Germany in any meaningful way. After all, if the slaughter of 6 million didn’t make them think twice about living in that polluted, blood-stained gentile land, this new measure isn’t liable to wake them up either.
Time for a Spiritual Tune-Up
The 7weeks of Sefirat HaOmer have cosmic significance. Our Sages tell us that these days are the root of the year.
Thoughts Make the Man
Dear Friends, the clock is ticking down to Rosh HaShanah. You can hear the shofars blasting all over the world. T’shuva may seem like a towering mountain too high to climb, but it’s really not as hard as you think.
Semi-Baal T’shuva
As long as someone lives outside of Eretz Yisrael, he fails to observe the Torah commandment of living in Israel which our Sages say is equal in weight to all of the other Torah commandments together!
Goodbye World, I’m Off to the Mountains!
Rabbi Kook’s advice is to set out correcting the transgressions of the past which are within the person’s reach to correct. This will set into motion a snowball of t’shuva whose inner force will lead him to correct matters more and more difficult, until he succeeds in redressing all wrongs.
Jewish Press Blogger Stoned on Mount of Olives!
Going to Mt of Olives cemetery was like visiting Jurassic Park in a jeep with dinosaurs rampaging
Defiant Settlers Rebuild Their Homes
Several days later, when the police left the area, the families began to rebuild their homes, but the police returned and knocked down walls the settlers had erected. Now the homes are standing once again.
A Jewish Hero Grows Up in Brooklyn
“The non-observant Jew knows. Deep in his heart he knows. He knows that the path [he treads] is a false one, that the Judaism he professes is a mockery.... His moment of truth lies within him. His is the power to call it into being. Let him but dig deeply into his Jewish resources and draw from them the traditional Jewish qualities of courage, determination and sacrifice."
Sarah Silverman is Not to Blame
To be perfectly honest, until yesterday, I had never heard of Sarah Silverman. I never saw a photo or a video of her; I never heard her jokes, nothing. While a great deal of junk American culture seeps into the Land of Israel, still we are sheltered from much of it, thank G-d, and I never heard her name mentioned in Israel at all. Until yesterday, when to my surprise and chagrin, I saw the immodest photo of her on the homepage of The Jewish Press, in her sleeveless top and her butt sticking into the air. Gevalt! Reading on about the silly fuss, I was further chagrined
The Diaspora Has Failed!
All of the directors and presidents of the Jewish organizations and federations and committees and leagues and unions who didn't and still don't call upon their members to pack up and go, they all should be replaced with braver souls. With the scourge of intermarriage decimating our ranks, all of the rabbis who didn't and still don't urge their congregations to go en mass to Israel should read through the Torah once again.
New Book Focuses On The Secrets Of The Alef-Bet
I went to Rav Raphael Levine, the sone of Rav Aryeh Levine, to solicit his permission to study Kabbalah. He told me that a p'sak halacha was needed and sent me to Rav Yosef Shalom Elyashiv.
Israeli Institute May Be On Verge Of Coronavirus Vaccine
The MIGAL Galilee Research Institute in Israel has developed a vaccine against coronavirus in birds and hopes to soon do the same for the...
Why I’m Not Going to Uman for Rosh Hashanah
We prayed for 2,000 years to return home to Israel, does it make sense to leave the Holy Land on RH?
Orthodox Sweep Elections in Israel!
The only thing preventing it from becoming a reality is the tragic fact that so many Orthodox Jews prefer living in the Diaspora.
The Family Rapaport: On The Nationalist Front Lines
Amongst secular Jews, our rightful attachment to the full borders of Eretz Yisrael is a political bargaining chip, not an iron-clad covenant from Sinai.
Why Mourn about Exile?
All of our life changes when we are in Galut. Not only does our Clalli soul disappear, but every detail of our life is affected. In exile, Emunah appears in an incomplete form
Thanks to The Jewish Press!
I was going to start out this blog by saying that I am happy to be back at The Jewish Press. But, in truth, I have mixed feelings. After all, I’ve been living in Israel now for 28 years, yet The Jewish Press is still in Brooklyn, along with its myriads of faithful readers.
Expelled, Expelled, And Expelled Again – Homesh Jews Remain Defiant
Arabs often throw stones and Molotov cocktails at our vehicles traveling from Homesh to Shavei Shomron.
“Why Should I Live in Israel? America Has Everything I Need”
One of the questions a person is asked when he reaches his Heavenly rest is, "Did you yearn for Salvation?" If a Jew does not long for the Redemption, for Salvation from the exile, then something is wrong. If he is happy in the Diaspora, then his Judaism is out of focus, and he is out of touch with his soul's deepest yearnings. As The Kuzari poignantly declares, his prayers for Jerusalem and Zion are like the chatterings of a nightingale, melodious but empty of meaning.
The Last Secular Jew in Israel
As the first wave of bombers reached the shores of Tel Aviv, a wall of rain clouds appeared in the sky. Jerusalem vanished in an impenetrable fog. In the lead French bomber, the dials on the instrument panel were spinning wildly in circles. The mysterious fog darkened the cockpit. An unworldly thunder shook the plane like a toy. The terrified pilot tried to swing the giant bomber around, but the steering was jammed.
This Week’s Bible Quiz
Mount Sinai was to be a temporary stopover to pick up the Torah, but the goal of the Exodus was to bring the Jews to Israel.
The Cult of America
In my family alone, except for my brother, all of my cousins and second cousins married out of the faith – all of them. Finished. Kaput. The end of the line. After 5000 years of clinging to being Jewish, generation after generation, through times of harsh and often murderous oppression, the candle was snuffed out in the love boat of America.
I Love All Jews
That’s right. I love Jews. All of them. I love good Jews and I love bad Jews. I love fat Jews and I love...
Noam Vows To Continue Fighting, Doesn’t Trust Likud
This material fosters positive perspectives on homosexuality, same-gender parenting, and Arab-Jewish marriages – all approved by former Minister of Education Naftali Bennett.
Days of Mashiach
"I've come for my house," the man said. "My family wants to move back tonight." Ehud's voice stuck in his throat. He felt dizzy. He felt weak. Giving up his house was too much. Ehud felt his sons' eyes upon him, watching to see what he would do. "It isn't your house," Ehud said. "Yes it is," the man answered. "We bought it. We have a deed," Ehud insisted. "I have a deed too. The people you bought the house from weren't the legal owners."
Zionism is T’shuva Too!
To rectify the blemish caused by galut, the Diaspora Jew has to stop being in exile and join the ingathered. He has to actualize the words of his daily prayers, “And gather us together from the four corners of the earth” by getting on a plane.